EVERETT- Neighbors of the Paine Field airport can expect more aircraft to fly overhead in the next few weeks.
A dozen flights normally based at Seattle’s Boeing Field will use the Snohomish County airport as their temporary home from Sunday to Aug. 24, while Boeing Field’s 10,000-foot-long main runway undergoes renovation.
“We expect a very light amount of flight activity associated with the displaced aircraft,” said Paine Field deputy director Bill Dolan. “You will have a few more overhead, but the noise level will be similar to the aircraft that have been operating here.”
Paine Field is expecting a half-dozen Boeing 737 delivery aircraft and a half dozen corporate jets. Dolan said the current generation of 737 is a quieter aircraft than older models.
“The noise level can also be different depending on the size and the engine of the corporate aircraft,” he said.
The majority of the Boeing Field-based aircraft will continue to use the Seattle airport, using a secondary 3,700-foot runway.
Others will relocate to surrounding airports around Puget Sound, including Sea-Tac International and Renton Municipal.
Most of the air freighters and cargo carriers have relocated to Sea-Tac, Boeing Field director Bob Burke said.
United Parcel Service, which used Paine Field in 2001 while damage from the Nisqually earthquake at Boeing Field was being repaired, will operate from Sea-Tac this time.
“It’s the aircraft operators’ preference. They go where they want,” Burke said. “It’s more economically efficient for them (UPS) to go to Sea-Tac because of I-5.”
Dolan said UPS had a very difficult time getting its vans to and from Paine Field on time because of I-5 traffic.
The Boeing Field runway will be closed through Aug. 24, and the runway improvements are scheduled to be completed by Aug. 29, Burke said.
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