MUKILTEO — As the time for a possible ruling by federal officials on passenger service at Paine Field draws near, flight opponents are gearing up with a new video.
Posted a couple weeks ago on the website of Save Our Communities, a Mukilteo-based group, the video says passenger flights could threaten the aerospace industry at Paine Field.
“Scheduled passenger service will crowd good economic growth,” the narrator states. “Protect your job. Support aerospace industries and general aviation by opposing scheduled flights.”
Allegiant Air of Las Vegas proposes to start service with four flights per week the first year, increasing to 20 by the fifth year. Horizon Air of Seattle proposes to start with 12 flights a day and increase to 20 by the fifth year, or 84 and 140 per week.
The Federal Aviation Administration could rule on the proposals by the end of March, said an official with Snohomish County, which owns and operates Paine Field.
The video’s claims contradict a statement by Boeing officials, who said two years ago that even as many as 43,000 flights a year — far beyond the 8,340 proposed by the airlines — would not interfere with its operations.
The 43,000 figure, for an average of more than 100 takeoffs and landings per day, comes from the Paine Field Master Plan of 2002. That plan projected that if the airport were to have passenger service, it could have up to that many flights per year by 2021. The projection was based on market conditions, not on airport capacity.
Mike Moore of Mukilteo, a board member of Save Our Communities, noted that once an airport allows commercial flights, there’s no legal limit to the number of flights.
“The FAA does not restrict flights,” he said. “The only restriction is the capacity of the airport.”
Moore also said the group is promoting Paine Field as an aviation center not only for aerospace manufacturing but also for training, education and tourism.
“This whole concept of an aerospace center of national significance is something we’re really pushing,” he said.
The video also says Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is operating at half its capacity and should be more fully utilized rather than having flights come to Paine.
Sea-Tac’s eventual “gridlock” capacity for passengers is projected at 59 million, airport spokesman Perry Cooper said. Last year it handled 31.5 million passengers, or about 53 percent.
In terms of flights, the airport’s capacity is 550,000 per year, while last year the number was just shy of 314,000 — 57 percent of capacity.
Sea-Tac, which recently added a third runway, is currently projected to reach its limit both for flights and passengers around 2030, Cooper said.
An environmental study of passenger flights at Paine Field was done in 2009 by a consultant for the FAA. The study concluded the proposed number of flights would not create a significant amount of noise, pollution or auto traffic.
Many people who spoke at hearings and sent letters to the FAA early last year disagreed, and more than 900 comments were registered.
Proponents of scheduled air service say it would help the local economy and agree with the study’s conclusions about the environment.
The agency has spent more than a year working on a response to the comments and a ruling on whether passenger service should be allowed. Opponents said the study didn’t take into account the law that does not allow limits on the number of flights.
Last summer the FAA said it would take extra time in its response to address the potential effect of twice the number of flights proposed.
Now, the FAA’s report is expected around the end of March, though it could be later, said Peter Camp, an executive director for Snohomish County.
An FAA spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
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