December 9, 2012 at 6:00 AM
Commercial air service for Paine Field
Posted by Letters coordinator
Expansion for the future
I was pleased to hear that the FAA is moving close to approving Paine Field as a commercial airfield. [“Paine Field taxis toward takeoff,” Opinion, Dec. 6].
According
to a 2009 report by the Port of Seattle, Horizon Air, the regional
subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, accounts for over 14 percent of
passengers traveling through the airport. The proposed terminal would
only serve a few destinations, but I believe it prudent to consider
further expansion of Paine Field into the future regional hub for local
flights.
As stated in the editorial, the airport functions well,
the FAA has deemed future additional traffic to have no significant
impact regarding pollution or noise and, most important, the framework
of the airport itself already exists.
The quickly expanding
Seattle metro area alone contains 3.5 million people; as the population
increases, so will air-travel demand. So why not offer those 14 percent
of travelers, especially North Sound residents for whom travel to
Sea-Tac Airport may require several hours, the option to avoid the crush
of a crowded airport?
Furthermore, Sea-Tac Airport would be able
to use the vacated space and time for additional large-scale flights
and any jobs created by commercializing Paine Field would be universally
appreciated.
—Owen Freed, Seattle
http://seattletimes.com
http://seattletimes.com/html/editorials
http://www.painefield.com
http://www.airnav.com/airport/KPAE
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