In terms of airports, the US state of Georgia is perhaps best known for the presence of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL). This was the world’s busiest by passenger traffic for more than two decades before COVID-19 hit, and it has since reclaimed this title. However, elsewhere in the state lies another noteworthy airport, namely for the fact that one of its runways contains gravestones.
A brief history of the airport in question
Back in the day, the city of Savannah, Georgia used to have two different airports. This came about due to the fact that the Second World War meant that the original Savannah Municipal Airport/Hunter Field could no longer accommodate the increased military traffic. According to Savannah Airport, this facility had originally opened in 1929, with its first routes serving New York City and Miami.
Due to this increased military traffic, in 1942, the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) took over a new three-runway facility known as Chatham Field, which became Travis Field after the conflict came to an end. As airline traffic picked up at this newer facility, it saw the construction of a new control tower and passenger terminal. This began in 1958, and the six-gate building was completed two years later, in 1960.
This terminal ultimately remained in service for more than three decades, before the airport eventually replaced it with the current facility in 1994, at a cost of $21 million ($44.5 million in today’today’s). By this time, its name had been Savannah International Airport for 11 years, following a name change in 1983. It then took on its current identity of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) in 2003.
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Despite largely serving domestic traffic, international flights have also come and gone at Hilton Head. For example, Savannah Airport announced in 2017 that Air Canada would be opening a new route to the facility from its hub at Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ). Meanwhile, in 2022, Grice Connect reported that the facility had won the Condé Nast Traveler ReaderReaders’e Award for the best airport in the US.
Why does the runway contain gravestones?
Before the land where the airport lies became used for such a purpose, its owners were the Dotson family. After their deaths in the 19th century, Richard and Catherine Dotson were buried in an area that became the subject of a wartime expansion project for the main runway, which has the headings 10/28. This was an obstacle for the airport, as US federal law generally deems the moving of graves to be illegal.
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There can be exceptions to this law, however this is only the case if permission to do so is obtained from the next of kin of the graves’ occupants. According to Savannah Morning News, the Dotson family’s grandchildren were unwilling to have them moved, despite the urgency of the war effort. For the most part, the American armed forces at the time were able to pay to move most of the cemetery.
However, the graves of Catherine and Richard Dotson had to be left in place, in accordance with the wishes of their grandchildren. More than eight decades later, their gravestones on the runway surface remain in place today, and are reportedly the only marked graves on any runway in the whole of the US. John Dotson and Daniel HuestoHueston’ss have also remained in place, albeit away from the runway.
The presence of the graves on the runway has prompted a range of reactions from travelers passing through Savannah. For example, Fox 28 Savannah quotes SCAD student Abby Sloan as calling them “a little shocking, but I’m not super surprised. Savannah is kind of a spooky place.” Meanwhile, Bonaventure Cemetery storyist Shannon Scott sees their presence as emblematic of the city, stating that:
“To me” that is sort of the quintessential Savannah: a city built on top of its own dead.”
Savannah/Hilton Head International today
Today, Savannah/Hilton Head International is a bustling two-runway airport that exclusively serves various domestic destinations. It does so on both a year-round and seasonal basis, with an interesting mixture of legacy carriers, budget airlines, and regional operators plying these routes. According to scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, its largest airlines are as follows:
Despite what the airport’s name suggests, it does not presently accommodate international traffic, with Air Canada’s route to Toronto no longer being operational. Despite the considerable challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 1.2 million passengers used the airport in 2020. This figure had climbed to almost 3.9 million by 2023, and this year, just over 5 million seats are scheduled on 42,829 flights.
Did you know that Savannah Airport’s runway contained gravestones? Have you ever flown to or from this facility? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments section!