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COLUMBIA REGIONAL AIRPORT -- The new Columbia Regional Airport Manager said his plans for growth are working.

Andrew Schneider has been on the job since November and said there’s plenty of room for airport expansion.

Schneider wants to take the Columbia Regional Airport to new heights as he tries to increase ridership and make the airport a friendlier place to do business.  The average flight out of Columbia Regional Airport is about 80% full.

Schneider said, “You’re outside of town.  You’ve got a lot of population to draw from.  I think the challenges in the future are going to be keeping all of the projects moving forward.  We have some major infrastructure projects to do.  We need to maintain the current airline service that we have and grow that.”

Schneider wants to get a second airline service at Columbia Regional Airport.  He said Delta’s Memphis hub works well, but he wants to keep expanding to other cities like Dallas or Chicago.

Schneider said, “There are different destinations.  Chicago would be one.  Dallas, if we were to have American Eagle Service, would be another.  They would be a very good hub.  They have good weather and lots of connections.  It doesn’t look like Atlanta would work for us.  Minneapolis, not so much.  The other one that is kind of out of mind is Detroit.”

Travel is up at the Columbia Regional Airport.  More than 35,000 people used the airport last year.

Schneider said he’s working with Columbia City Leaders as they plan for major renovations and additions to the airport.  They are in the early stages of rebuilding the airport terminal and expanding the runways.

You can read KRCG’s Mark Slavit’s entire interview with Andrew Schneider in this month’s edition of Inside Columbia Magazine.