EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council on Tuesday approved a new long-range plan for Paine Field, including a potential expansion of the passenger terminal, landslide mitigation work and projects with an eye on increased cargo activity.
A 200,000-square-foot terminal, improvements to its two runways and expanded support facilities are all part of the plan looking toward 2040. The vision is the first updated master plan for the airport since 2002. A rapidly growing source of commercial flights, the airport is expected to hit four million annual passengers by 2040.
The passenger terminal is privately owned and opened in 2019. However, Snohomish County owns the airport. Since opening, it has served several million passengers.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to send the plan to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval. The county had until Sept. 1 to submit the plan to the federal government, or risk losing grant funding, a county staff report stated.
Approving the plan carried no fiscal impact, the report noted.
“Most, if not all, of the individual projects to implement the plan will require future approvals from the County Council,” the report stated.
The total price tag for the improvements would be “$297 million in 2024 dollars over approximately 20 years,” according to the staff report.
Of that, the county estimates 65% could come from FAA grants and 8% would come from private sources. Local airport funds are expected to cover the remainder.
“I know we’re about to do a quick vote, but $300 million, this is a big deal,” County Council member Jared Mead said.
The airport is about 1,300 acres and plays host to more than 60 businesses, including Boeing. The existing passenger terminal is 44,000 square feet and can handle about 1.5 million passengers. The airport’s economic impact is almost $60 billion annually, according to the county.
FAA statistics show the airport had 306,000 boardings on flights in 2022, a 17% increase from the year prior. It ranked 171st in the country in boardings and handles the fourth-most in Washington. Spokane handled over 2 million passengers over the same time period, with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ranking 11th in the United States with over 24 million boardings. The Tri-Cities airport had over 438,000 boardings.
Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.
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