Columbia Metropolitan Airport is the main commercial airport for Columbia and the Midlands region of South Carolina, United States. The airport is located in unincorporated Lexington County, southwest of Columbia. Although it has a West Columbia mailing address, The airline has since resumed the route to Newark Liberty International Airport in January 2026.
On June 7, 2018, American Airlines restored mainline service to Columbia with two daily nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth. The airline also announced it would start flights to/from Miami by the end of 2019.
Facilities
The airport covers and has two runways: 11/29 is and 5/23 is . It has a helipad. The center of runway 5/23 is asphalt; the edges are grooved concrete.
The airport is a hub for UPS Airlines and was a hub for Air South, a former low-cost carrier.
The terminal opened May 30, 1965, and was renovated in 1997. The renovation was designed by Heyward, Woodrum, Fant & Associates, Ltd. It replaces a terminal built in the early 1950s which was a replacement of a terminal built several years earlier in the early 1950s. Since the late 1980s, capital improvements have been undertaken, including a renovated and expanded terminal, a new parking garage (completed in 2003), the lengthening of the runways, and better interstate access. The terminal has several services, including gift shops, the Everett Adams Memorial Chapel, restaurants and bars inside the terminal. Free wireless internet service is provided throughout the airport as well as small number of recharge stations with access to outlets.
Police and fire/rescue services are provided by the Columbia Metro Airport Department of Public Safety. Public safety officers are South Carolina Police Academy Class 1 officers, and South Carolina Fire Academy IFSAC Firefighter II, and Airport Firefighter. Some have basic EMT certifications. The Department has three ARFF units, one RIV unit, one fire pumper, and a service truck. Law enforcement is covered by four patrol vehicles. The Department provides fire services at the FAR 139 level only. Structural firefighting is handled by Lexington County Fire Service.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger service is currently provided by four scheduled airlines, with commercial cargo service being handled by three scheduled airlines and numerous air freight operators. Two fixed-base operators also serve the Metro facility with various charter flights. The airport maintains a newly dedicated air cargo terminal, the Columbia Airport Enterprise Park (CAE Park) and Foreign Trade Zone #127. Columbia Metropolitan Airport recently completed a $45 million terminal expansion and renovation. Annually, the airport serves about 1 million passengers, though prior to the Great Recession, nearly 1.5 million passengers were served.
Passenger
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Statistics
Top destinations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Busiest domestic routes from CAE (October 2024 – September 2025)
! Rank
! City
! Passengers
! Carriers
|-
| 1
| Atlanta, Georgia
| 231,000
| Delta
|-
| 2
| Charlotte, North Carolina
| 134,550
| American
|-
| 3
| Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
| 66,150
| American
|-
| 4
| New York-LaGuardia, New York
| 53,390
| American, Delta
|-
| 5
| Washington–National, D.C.
| 53,370
| American
|-
| 6
| Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois
| 40,680
| American, United
|-
| 7
| Washington–Dulles, D.C.
| 39,830
| United
|-
| 8
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| 24,420
| American
|-
| 9
| Fort Lauderdale, Florida
| 7,290
| Allegiant, Spirit
|-
| 10
| Newark, New Jersey
| 4,670
|
|}
Airline market share
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Largest airlines serving CAE (October 2024 – September 2025)
!Year
!Passengers
!Year
!Passengers
!Year
!Passengers
|-
|2004||1,247,862||2014||1,034,133||2024||1,362,374
|-
|2005||1,462,933||2015||1,102,011||2025||1,370,479
|-
|2006||1,289,667||2016||1,132,329||2026||
|-
|2007||1,234,547||2017||1,077,188||2027||
|-
|2008||1,149,682||2018||1,197,603||2028||
|-
|2009||1,051,348||2019||1,353,788||2029||
|-
|2010||1,003,375||2020||577,187||2030||
|-
|2011||996,158||2021||870,806||2031||
|-
|2012||1,014,749||2022||1,063,630||2032||
|-
|2013||1,018,226||2023||1,234,487||2033||
|}
Southeastern regional cargo hub
In August 1996, the UPS Airlines-owned cargo airline opened an $80 million southeastern regional hub at the airport, one of six regional hubs throughout the United States. The hub offers next-day, second-day and third-day air service. The buildings encompass and the ramp is large enough to hold 22 DC-8 aircraft. The hub can process 42,000 packages an hour. Other major air cargo companies serving the airport include ABX Air and FedEx Express.
Accidents and incidents
- A Volpar 18 (registration ) crashed on February 26, 1971 while attempting to land at the airport. The aircraft crashed in poor visibility and fog while performing a missed approach, killing the pilot and seven passengers.
- A Beechcraft C90 King Air () crashed on December 20, 1973 while attempting to land at the airport. The aircraft collided with trees after descending below minimum descent altitude in poor visibility. The pilot and a passenger were killed and another passenger was seriously injured.
- A Learjet 60 () crashed on September 19, 2008 while attempting a rejected takeoff on runway 11, crashing instead into the hillside across a road beyond the end of the runway. Four people died in the accident, including the two pilots. The sole survivors were musicians Travis Barker of Blink 182 and DJ Adam Goldstein, who died a year later.
- On December 20, 2020, a Western Global Airlines Boeing 747 lost a wingtip on its right wing while taxiing before take-off at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, for a flight to Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California. No one aboard was reported injured.
- On August 12, 2025, a Velocity XL () en route from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport crashed when its front landing gear collapsed upon landing on runway 11, shutting down airport operations for hours. The plane sustained heavy damage but pilot survived with minor injuries.
See also
- List of airports in South Carolina
References
External links
- Columbia Metropolitan Airport, official site
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