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! 😀 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 sector | Shane Jones |
| 6. Representative from the airline industry and private sector Lorin Carr | Lorin Carr |
| 7. Representative from the airline industry and private sector | Andrea Goodpasture |
| 8. Citizen representative from eastern Washington | Mark Englizian |
| Citizen representative from western Washington | Steve 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 Commerce | Robin 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 Defense | Robert 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 airport | Tony Bean |
| 11. Representative from a western WA regional airport Rudy Rudolph" | Rudy Rudolph |
| 12. Multi-Modal Planning | Kerri Woehl |
Blog Posts
Seattle Times 1980-04-09 pg107 Eastside Airport Proposal in Carnation
Seattle Times – Eastside Airport Proposal in Carnation, April 9, 1980
Sen. Karen Keiser – Airport of the Future Interim Report, 2022
ChatGPT: advice about Second Airport and Sea-Tac Capacity Issues
Commercial Aviation Work Group Meeting Agenda – December 9, 2025
Articles from around the web
- OLYMPIA – The state Commercial Aviation Work Group, which evaluates Washington’s future needs for commercial aviation and transportation, will host its first meeting of 2026 [...]
- A state work group is exploring air travel at JBLM to ease SEA airport congestion, despite military opposition. https://youtu.be/MJe734FkrfI Author: Drew Mikkelsen UNION GAP, Wash. — [...]
- Public hybrid meeting Wednesday, September 17 at the Union Gap City Hall at 102 W Ahtanum Road, Union Gap, WA, 98903 Zoom registration link TVW Live Streaming [...]
- Good 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 [...]
- 9 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 & [...]
- June 27, 2024 Christina Crea, WSDOT Aviation Communications Manager, 360-810-0902 OLYMPIA – The Commercial Aviation Work Group—created by the Legislature last year—will host its first public meeting beginning [...]
- By 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 [...]
- By 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 [...]
- THE 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 [...]
- JASON RANTZ Feb 3, 2023, 6:02 PM | Updated: Feb 4, 2023, 11:56 am Alaska Airlines planes are pictured at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport the day after Horizon Air [...]
- By 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. [...]
- A sign urging people to reject a new airport in Eatonville. State officials charged with identifying sites for a new major airport have narrowed it [...]
- By Tom Dent and Karen Keiser Special to The Times We are at the start of the greatest transformation in flight since the development of [...]
- 1 of 8 | Jeremy Foust, owner of Left Foot Farm in Eatonville, pauses before feeding his goats. Foust’s goat farm falls inside the circle [...]
- Three 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 [...]
- By Shea Johnson Updated September 26, 2022 10:09 AM Two rural expanses of land in Pierce County are among three so-called “greenfield” sites still under [...]
- https://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 [...]
- By Alex Bruell • August 4, 2022 11:15 am Can you imagine airplanes flying over these plains? This farmland on the Enumclaw Plateau near the [...]
- by Kenneth Chan Officials in Washington State are in the very early stages of planning the potential construction of a second major international airport to [...]
- By 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 [...]
- The 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 [...]
- OLYMPIA — Addressing the need for a new airport and encouraging the growth of the aviation profession was the topic of proposed legislation and public [...]
- Come 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: [...]
- 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 [...]