Columbia Metropolitan Airport

T he Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), located five miles southwest of Columbia, South Carolina in Lexington County, is the main commercial airport for Columbia and the Midlands region of the state. It began life in 1940 as the Lexington County Airport, and was renamed the Columbia Army Air Base a year later, after being acquired by the U.S. Army Air Corps, which expanded it dramatically to serve the war effort. Runways, hangars, roads, buildings, and other facilities were added to support the training activities of B-25 flight and bombardment functions. Following World War II, the Airport was used briefly as a training facility for the U.S. Air Force Reserves. In 1949, the base was declared surplus and it became a commercial-use and general aviation airport. By the late 1950s, the City of Columbia proposed that a new airport be constructed on the site of the existing one. Today, the Columbia Metropolitan Airport covers 2,600 acres and has two AT A GLANCE THE COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN AIRPORT WHAT: The main commercial airport for Columbia and the Midlands region of South Carolina WHERE: Five miles southwest of Columbia, South Carolina WEBSITE: www.columbiaairport.com COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN AIRPORT A BRAND NEWDAY