County Rejects Move Proposals, GA Pilots Relieved
At a news conference
Tuesday morning, King County (WA) Executive Ron Sims closed the
door on the plans of two commercial air carriers that wanted
to begin flying out of King County International Airport, more
commonly known as Boeing Field.
"I am forced to reject both the Alaska and Southwest proposal,"
Sims said, according to Seattle's KING5 TV. Sims cited potential
litigation, noise, and traffic as reasons for his decision.
The declaration put an end to Southwest's bid to move its
operations from larger Seattle-Tacoma International to the smaller
downtown-area airport, that is also home to Boeing's 737 test
program facility.
The move allows general aviation and business pilots who now use
Boeing Field to breathe a sigh of relief. Many had feared expanded
commercial airline operations at the airport would have forced out
existing GA traffic.
Since 1976, the airport has operated under an FAA exemption
granting use of both its parallel runways for simultaneous
operations, although the runway centerlines are only 375-feet
apart. Current FAA guidelines call for a minimum 700-ft distance,
and the exception was only granted to Boeing Field under the
pretense of there being relatively few large jets using the
airport.
"Regular air carrier
traffic is not anticipated," at Boeing Field, according to the 1976
exemption ruling entitled "Documentation of Deviation from Design
Standards." A separate FAA memo from the time also stated
"discontinuation of the procedure [involving parallel runways]
could severely reduce the operational capacity of the airport."
According to opponents of the Southwest move, the presence of
large jets operating on a regular basis from Boeing Field would
have voided the exemption, forcing the closure of the shorter
runway currently used by smaller aircraft.
Alaska Airlines, which along with American Airlines, initially
opposed the Southwest move, later submitted its own proposal in
anticipation of having to compete with the Dallas, TX-based LLC at
Boeing. Both carriers' proposals called for construction of a new
terminal and facilities at Boeing Field, at the expense of current
general aviation areas.
Many have drawn parallels between the debate over Seattle's
airports and Southwest's ongoing North Texas battle over expanding
operations out of its home-airport, Dallas Love Field. The carrier
has engaged rival American Airlines there, too, pressing for
expanded service out of the smaller (and less expensive) airport
instead of competing directly with American at DFW
International.