Vote On Acceptance Of FAA Funds A Small Step To A New Terminal

Seattle-area air travelers may get another airport option. Wednesday night, Snohomish County Commissioners voted 4-0 to negotiate terms for construction of a new terminal at Paine Field with Allegiant Air and Horizon Air. The talks remove a barrier to the receipt of FAA funding to repair Paine's crumbling runways.

Paine Field is the official Snohomish County Airport. It's the location of Boeing's Everett plant, and the Boeing Future of Aviation Center and tour building. It's also home to Aviation Technical Services, a major maintenance, repair and overhaul provider. Paine Field was named for US Army Second Lieutenant Topliff Olin Paine in 1941, when the Army took over the airport for use as a base during World War II.

Allegiant Air and Horizon Air say they'd like to offer a total of five scheduled, commercial flights daily from Paine Field... which for residents north of Seattle is much more convenient, and far less congested than SeaTac.

As ANN has reported, NIMBYs have pressured their county commissioners to just say "no" to the airlines, fearing increased noise they fear will grow well beyond five flights a day once the door is opened.

On the other side, pressure came from the Port of Everett, which had threatened to discuss building the new terminal if the county commission would not, saying the area could not afford to lose Boeing jobs over dilapidated runways.

While the county's decision to proceed doesn't guarantee final approval to build the terminal, it does satisfy the FAA requirement to conduct good-faith talks with the airlines to qualify for the release of $7 million in federal money earmarked for Paine Field.

How good that faith will be remains to be seen. The Snohomish Times published a statement from County Executive Aaron Reardon which says, in part, "While I and a majority of the council personally remain opposed to commercial air service at Paine Field, due to federal requirements, the County Council had no other choice..."

FMI: www.painefield.com