Second Airport

This page provides a portal for information concerning the progress towards a second airport, which was being studied and debated by the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Committee (CACC.)

Timeline

2019: A second airport was originally to be sited by 2021 and up and running by 2040. The most likely location at that time was Moses Lake based on its ability to handle the largest aircraft, proximity to I-90 and strong support from regional legislators such as Tom Dent, which meant that this second airport focus was cargo flights.

2020: COVID put the group’s work into a slower gear, however they continued to meet. Their public outreach was noticeably weak, which created the impression that they were trying to keep residents at prospective sites from going ballistic.

2022: A second airport site was slated to be chosen in 2023, with the goal to be up and running by 2040. It will likely be a ‘green field’ site in Pierce or Thurston Counties, which means its focus will likely be on Air Taxis (flights under 70 seats.) Note the frequent use of the word ‘likely’.

2022: But wait! πŸ˜€ Although the CACC mandate specifically precludes any location within King County, a site in Enumclaw was added to the mix by WSDOT because, using the CACC’s own scoring system it scored highest on every metric. Vigorous opposition from all four communities quickly mobilized.

2023: With the passage of HB 1791, the CACC officially ended at its June 9 Meeting having made no selection. It is meant to be replaced by a new committee, but that new group has literally no timeline or mandate.

Current Status

As of June 9, 2023, the search for a second airport is effectively dead.

What does that mean for residents near Sea-Tac Airport? The short answer is, as always: if you live near Sea-Tac Airport and you are hoping that a second airport will provide some relief from the negative impacts you currently experience? Nope.

A second airport will never, ever, ever, NEVER reduce the number of operations at Sea-Tac Airport. The primary goal for every player in the State and Federal government’s transportation systems is to maximize Sea-Tac Airport under any and all circumstances.

Read: Peace With Honor

The CACC

Meetings

CACC Membership

Voting Members
1. Representative of commercial service airports and ports –
County with a population of two million or more
vacant
2. Representative of commercial service airports and ports –
Port in eastern WA with a runway of at least 13,500’ in
length
Stroud Kunkle
3. Representative of commercial service airports and ports –
Commercial service airport in eastern WA located in a
county with a population of 400,000 or more
Larry Krauter
4. Representative of commercial service airports and ports –
Association of ports
Jim Kuntz
5. Representative from the airline industry and private sectorShane Jones
6. Representative from the airline industry and private sector Lorin CarrLorin Carr
7. Representative from the airline industry and private sectorAndrea Goodpasture
8. Citizen representative from eastern Washington Mark Englizian
Citizen representative from western WashingtonSteve Edmison
11. Representative from the trucking industry
12. Representative from a community organization which
understands the impacts of a large commercial aviation
facility on a community
Arif Ghouse
Airport Director, Paine Field
13. Representative from a statewide environmental
organization
Bryce Gadon
14. Representative from the Department of CommerceRobin Toth
15. Representative from the Division of Aeronautics (Aviation)
Non-voting Members
1. Representative from the WA state Aviation Alliance (WSAA) Warren Hendrickson
2. Representative from the Department of DefenseRobert Rodriguez
3. Senate member from the two largest caucuses in the
Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate Senator
Jim Honeyford
4. Senate member from the two largest caucuses in the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate Senator Karen Keiser
5. House of Representatives member from the two largest caucuses, appointed by the Speaker of the House Representative Tom Dent
6. House of Representatives member from the two largest
caucuses, appointed by the Speaker of the House Representative
Tina Orwall
7. Representative from the Division of Aeronautics of the
Dept. of Transportation
Robert Hodgman
8. Representative from an eastern WA metropolitan planning
organization
Lois Bollenback
9. Representative from a western WA metropolitan planning organization
Jason Thibedeau
10. Representative from an eastern WA regional airportTony Bean
11. Representative from a western WA regional airport Rudy Rudolph" Rudy Rudolph
12. Multi-Modal PlanningKerri Woehl

CACC Members

CACC Member Bios

CACC Online Open House and Virtual Public Meeting – Sea-Tac Airport Noise And Pollution (seatacnoise.info)

Blog Posts

Articles from around the web

Another airport isn’t the answer to the region’s transportation needsA sign urging people to reject a new airport in Eatonville. State officials charged with identifying sites for a new major airport have narrowed it [...]Commercial Aviation Workgroup Second Meeting9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Meeting Agenda Virtual Meeting: Zoom Zoom Registration: https://wsdot-wa.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkdeuupjkpG9GGWQO3gGhfAlx9VLNESh9I Time Topic Presenter 9:00 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. Welcome a. Meeting & [...]Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission Meeting 09/23/2022https://youtu.be/YsPKmdbfCuQ "Greatest Public Benefit" is a concept that has been devastating for airport communities. It means that, as they say on Star Trek, "the needs [...]Commercial Aviation Workgroup Meeting #3Good afternoon! The third public Commercial Aviation Work Group meeting is scheduled virtually for Tuesday, October 29 from 9 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. The link [...]Dunn: New Plateau airport β€œdead on arrival”By Alex Bruell β€’ August 4, 2022 11:15 am Can you imagine airplanes flying over these plains? This farmland on the Enumclaw Plateau near the [...]First meeting of the Commercial Aviation Work Group set for July 11 in Tumwater: Attendees may also join meeting onlineJune 27, 2024 Christina Crea, WSDOT Aviation Communications Manager,Β 360-810-0902 OLYMPIA – TheΒ Commercial Aviation Work Groupβ€”created by the LegislatureΒ last yearβ€”will host its first public meeting beginning [...]House Transportation Committee Meeting on HB1683Come to Olympia and support Tina Orwall's bill to site a second airport. You can always keep updated on the progress of any bill here: [...]It won’t be easy, but WA can launch the airport of the futureByΒ  Tom Dent Β andΒ  Karen Keiser Special to The Times We are at the start of the greatest transformation in flight since the development of [...]JDA Journal: Washington State legislator’s Aviation InitiativeThe only professional pilot in the Washington State legislature, District 13 Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake. has proposed four aviation specific bills: HB1683 to evaluate [...]New airport would put Washington’s climate goals out of reach, critics argueThree critics voice their concerns about building a new airport. Laura Gibbons, Maria Batayola, and Bryce Yadon Credit: KUOW Photo/Joshua McNichols New airport would put [...]Picking a location for a new airport, other aviation issues before lawmakersOLYMPIA β€” Addressing the need for a new airport and encouraging the growth of the aviation profession was the topic of proposed legislation and public [...]SB 5370 (Siting a second regional airport)A bill, co-sponsored by State Senator Karen Keiser, to site a second regional airport as an alternative to Sea-Tac International Airport. Follow the link to [...]Seattle looking for suitable site to build second major international airportby Kenneth Chan Officials in Washington State are in the very early stages of planning the potential construction of a second major international airport to [...]Seattle needs a new Sea-Tac-sized airport. No one wants it near them1 of 8 | Jeremy Foust, owner of Left Foot Farm in Eatonville, pauses before feeding his goats. Foust’s goat farm falls inside the circle [...]South Thurston County location under consideration for β€˜Sea-Tac-size’ airportBy The (Centralia) Chronicle June 29, 2020 05:45 AM , Updated June 29, 2020 01:43 PM A south Thurston County location is one of many [...]State planners mention Yakima as β€˜willing partner’ in new airportByΒ  Joel Donofrio Yakima Herald-Republic Yakima’s interest in using its airport to relieve crowding at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has the attention of state transportation officials. [...]State Rep: β€˜None of these locations are suitable’ for a future airportJASON RANTZ Feb 3, 2023, 6:02 PMΒ |Β Updated:Β Feb 4, 2023, 11:56 am Alaska Airlines planes are pictured at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport the day after Horizon Air [...]WA needs a new set of thinkers to tackle the idea of a second international airport | OpinionTHE OLYMPIAN EDITORIAL BOARD February 12, 2023, 5:00 AM Getty Images Are we off the hook for having a giant airport plunked down in a [...]We Desperately Need a New Airport: New Effort Seems Stymied from the StartBy Mike Merritt Even as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport soars back toward record passenger volumes, the state’s rebooted effort to solve the region’s looming air-transportation crisis [...]Why prospects that Pierce, Thurston could be home to new 2-runway airport just improvedBy Shea Johnson Updated September 26, 2022 10:09 AM Two rural expanses of land in Pierce County are among three so-called β€œgreenfield” sites still under [...]Yakima could be part of the solution to airport problemByΒ  Robert Hodgman Special to The Seattle Times If you’ve traveled through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the last few months, you may have noticed it’s [...]

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