2026-04-14
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s new managing director Wendy Reiter, pictured at her office in SeaTac on Thursday. (Ivy Ceballo / The Seattle Times) By Lauren Rosenblatt Seattle Times business reporter Seattle-Tacoma International Airport needs a second terminal to accommodate more planeloads of travelers coming practically every year. The new terminal is one of several projects the
2026-04-13
Level Up: April 17th Historically, the FAA’s approach to recruiting and retaining Air Traffic Controllers has been to say the least, a slightly schizophrenic. On the one hand, the physical and mental requirements are more challenging than most government or military positions. By government standards, the compensation, and particularly the retirement benefits are very good.
2026-04-09
In re: Emano, et al. v. Port of Seattle Case No. 25-2-11500-3 SEA Superior Court of the State of Washington, King County The Port of Seattle has created an official Settlement Website for the In re: Emano, et al. v. Port of Seattle authorized by the Superior Court of the State of Washington, King County.
2026-03-23
**Discover why environmental progress stalled for airport communities while cars got cleaner**
Ever wonder why your car's emissions have dramatically improved over decades, but aviation seems stuck in the past? In this eye-opening episode of The Airport Communities Podcast, we explore the fascinating tale of two environmental paths that diverged after 1970.
While Washington Senator Scoop Jackson spearheaded NEPA—one of the largest expansions of environmental policy in American history—and California secured game-changing carve-outs in the Clean Air Act that led to massive air quality improvements, aviation somehow got left behind. Despite Boeing being headquartered in Washington, aviation environmental standards never caught up.
UW Meteorologist Cliff Mass delivers some stark perspective: those two annual flights to Europe generate more greenhouse gases than most people produce in their entire homes over a year. Meanwhile, Boeing's monopoly status has eliminated market incentives for cleaner technology.
This wasn't an oversight—it was intentional. Today, every airport community continues paying the price for decisions made decades ago that exempted aviation from automotive-level engineering standards.
2026-03-21
SAMP Update: NEPA Following the FAA decision to permit the Sustainable Airport Master Plan, the Three City ILA (Burien, Des Moines, and SeaTac) filed a shared appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court, using an attorney identified and hired by the City of SeaTac. Apparently, the attorney was also hired, in a shared decision the non-profit
2026-03-05
After 50 years of community engagement and millions spent on advocacy, why do airport communities continue to lose battles over noise, air quality, and expansion? The uncomfortable truth is that the Casino rewards community engagement—an approach that never works--over developing one that does.
2026-02-21
After 50 years of community engagement and millions spent on advocacy, why do airport communities continue to lose battles over noise, air quality, and expansion? The uncomfortable truth is that the Casino rewards community engagement—an approach that never works--over developing one that does.
2026-02-19
The benefits and consequences for airport communities In January 2025, the Trump administration began removing content from federal websites following Executive Order 14151. The order directed all government agencies to terminate DEI and environmental justice–related programs. These include environmental justice and climate mapping using a nationally consistent dataset for evaluating the socioeconomic impacts of airports.
2026-02-12
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressive move by the Republican president to roll back climate regulations. The rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency rescinds a 2009 government
Changes 1985-2032 The black outline depicts the 1985-2013 Part 150 noise contour. The light orange rectangle is the 92 sq mile area defined under State of Washington law (RCW 53.54.020) that is eligible for funding to mitigate noise impacts–but only those generated by Sea-Tac Airport. All sound insulated homes inside the original DNL65 (1985-2032). Sound