Stories

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  • 2025-07-19

    Money Balls

    Using ‘bird deterrents’ to think about airport community compensation On November 21, 2024 the Des Moines City Council voted to spend $124,191 of Des Moines taxpayer money for Bird-X (brand)  ‘bird balls’. This was not a discretionary purchase. According to FAA Advisory Circular 150-5200-33C a property owner of a retention pond near an airport is
  • 2025-07-16

    Burien City Council proposes cancelling SIRRPP?

    It costs no more to do it right. At the July 14, 2025 Burien City Council meeting Councilmember Linda Akey made this proposal. I would like to request the city council take two actions. One, authorize city staff to work on a letter to the Port of Seattle requesting an end to the Port Package
  • 2025-07-08

    For Some Airport Users, ADS-B is a Four-Letter Word

    The aviation industry has long relied on Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data to provide real-time tracking and monitoring of aircraft for collision avoidance, weather awareness and routine air traffic management. However, the technology can also be used to assess and bill aircraft owners for landing and other airfield fees, which has caused an outcry of
  • 2025-07-08

    Delta Flight Diverted to Fort Myers After Onboard Battery Fire, FAA Notes Rise in Lithium Battery Incidents

    A Delta Air Lines flight made an unscheduled landing yesterday in Fort Myers, Florida, due to a portable battery catching fire on board. Flight 1334, en route from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, was diverted when flight attendants noticed and extinguished flames from what seemed to be a personal battery, Delta confirmed in a statement reported
  • 2025-07-07

    Significant Changes to the National Environmental Policy Act Affecting Airport Projects

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has seen seismic changes in the past several months. On June 30, 2025, FAA rescinded its previous NEPA procedures and issued new Order 1050.1G, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, to address the recent rescission of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations, recent Executive Orders, and a recent
  • 2025-07-04

    TSA to End Shoe Removal Rule for All Travelers

    Happy 4th of July. I wasn’t planning to send this before Monday, but this exclusive couldn’t wait. According to multiple credible sources, the White House is preparing to announce a major shift in TSA protocol: all travelers, even those without TSA PreCheck, will soon be allowed to keep their shoes on during airport screening. This would
  • 2025-07-03

    Sea-Tac Airport breaks record, expects 900K travelers over July 4 weekend

    The busiest day is expected to be Sunday, July 6, when passenger traffic could set a new single-day record at Sea-Tac Airport. The newly-added checkpoint at Sea-Tac Airport brings five security lanes. Author: KING 5 Staff SEATAC, Wash. — Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is bracing for a surge in travelers over the July 4th holiday period,
  • 2025-07-01

    START June 25, 2025 features important DNL65 update

    Too much technical. Not enough human The last Stakeholder Advisory Roundtable (StART) meeting focused on ‘establishing a priority framework for 2025’ and included updates from various working groups. Arif Ghouse, SEA’s interim aviation managing director, introduced himself as the new chair, taking over from Lance Lyttle who departed in April. StART Meeting Agenda 20250625 The
  • 2025-06-28

    Free Air Purifiers for Burien residents!

    Saturday, June 28, 11am - 2pm. The City of Burien and Eco Infinity Nation, in collaboration with King County Public Health, are giving away 100 free air purifiers to Burien residents affected by air pollution. Delivery is on a first come, first serve basis until stocks last. All participants must complete a 5-minute supervised survey as a condition to receive the air purifier. These typically go very fast, we recommend showing up early.
  • 2025-06-26

    The one minute Port Package map fly over

    Visualizing Port Package eligibility from 1991 until today A few weeks ago we wrote a post describing the work we had begun to improve our maps and charts and graphs. Here is one tiny example of how you can use them. This one minute video is a ‘fly-over’ of the DNL65 from 1991 until today
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