Sea-Tac Airport saw record activity between 2014 and 2017, with over 46 million passengers and 425,895 metric tons of cargo passing through in 2017 alone. Passenger growth is slowing — dropping from a 13% year-over-year increase in 2015 to just 2.6% in 2017 — while air cargo, driven largely by domestic freight, surged 16% compared to the prior year. Summer months remain the busiest for passengers, and air mail volumes have shown a steady annual increase throughout the period.

Notes

A Puget Sound Regional Council report analyzing passenger and air cargo trends at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from 2014 to 2017. The report notes that passenger volumes exceeded 46 million in 2017 with growth rates stabilizing, while air cargo volumes grew rapidly at 16% year-over-year. Freight accounted for 86% of total cargo, with domestic freight growing 25% in 2017.

Sidebar On/Off

As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

continue...

V V

Notes

Message