TagPuget Sound Regional Council(175)

The Regional Aviation Baseline Study, published by the Puget Sound Regional Council in June 2019, examines the roles and interactions of 29 airports across the central Puget Sound region, including Sea-Tac as the area's primary large hub. The study aims to provide a regional perspective on how aviation activities affect communities and the broader economy, while gathering stakeholder input on aviation and airspace constraints. Its findings are intended to identify future aviation needs and lay the groundwork for long-term regional planning.

The Regional Aviation Baseline Study, published June 27, 2019 by the Puget Sound Regional Council, examines the roles and interactions of 29 airports across the central Puget Sound region, including Sea-Tac as the area's sole large hub. The study aims to gather stakeholder input on aviation and airspace constraints, assess how airport activities affect surrounding communities and the broader economy, and lay the groundwork for future regional aviation planning.

This document is a presentation from the first Technical Workshop of the Regional Aviation Baseline Study, held on June 11, 2019. It covers an overview of airport and aviation activities in the region, including data collection, economic context, trends and forecasts, and multimodal transportation connections. The workshop also addressed goal areas, objectives, and performance metrics to inform future regional aviation policy.

The Puget Sound Regional Council's 2018 Annual Report highlights regional transportation milestones, including the opening of the new Paine Field Passenger Terminal in Snohomish County — a project described as decades in the making. The report features a message from PSRC President and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers and Executive Director Josh Brown, celebrating the terminal as a major economic and travel resource for the greater Puget Sound region. Note: this document focuses on regional planning and infrastructure progress and does not directly address Sea-Tac Airport noise policy.

The Burien Airport Committee met on March 19, 2019 to discuss concerns about Sea-Tac Airport's impact on the surrounding community, including noise pollution, safety, and health effects. The agenda included updates on federal and regional aviation policy efforts, and a review of three resolutions adopted by the Burien City Council on January 28, 2019, addressing airport growth, noise pollution, and requests for health impact monitoring. The committee also discussed priorities for 2019 and how to advance action on these resolutions at the local, state, and federal levels.

The Puget Sound Regional Council launched a two-year Regional Aviation Baseline Study, funded by a $1.6 million FAA grant, to assess the aviation system across King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties. The study examined existing airport roles, economic contributions, airspace capacity, and community impacts to build a technical foundation for future regional aviation planning decisions. Conducted in phases from 2019 to 2020, the study included stakeholder engagement, public meetings, and a final report outlining strategies for accommodating future aviation demand in the central Puget Sound region.

A January 2019 report to the Puget Sound Regional Council examines aviation demand in the Central Puget Sound region, where the population grew from 3.7 million to 4.1 million people and jobs increased from 1.9 million to 2.3 million between 2010 and 2018. Over roughly the same period, passenger traffic at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport rose 43% to 46.9 million passengers, while aircraft operations increased 32% to 416,000 annually. The study establishes a baseline for understanding how this rapid regional growth is driving increased aviation activity, with implications for noise and capacity planning.

This December 2018 final report, prepared by WSP and KPA for Washington State's Joint Transportation Committee, examines air cargo movement across Washington State, including operations at major facilities such as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), Boeing Field, Paine Field, Spokane International, and the Port of Moses Lake. The study involved a broad stakeholder panel of legislators, port representatives, airlines, freight forwarders, and transportation agencies to assess the state's air cargo infrastructure and needs. It serves as a planning resource for understanding freight aviation activity in the region, though it is not primarily focused on airport noise policy.

This January 2019 Port of Seattle Commission briefing outlines the agency's local and regional government policy priorities for 2019, covering areas such as climate and sustainability, regional transportation, workforce development, maritime projects, and aviation. On the airport side, key priorities include advancing the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) near-term projects to address regional demand, and engaging surrounding South King County communities through forums like the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART). The document reflects the Port's broader effort to balance airport growth with community concerns, economic opportunity, and environmental responsibility.

A November 2018 presentation by the Puget Sound Regional Council examined regional aviation needs against a backdrop of rapid growth in the central Puget Sound area, where the population rose from 3.7 million to 4.1 million people between 2010 and 2018. Over the same period, the region's job count grew from 1.9 million to 2.3 million, reflecting a strong and expanding economy. The study established a baseline for understanding how this growth affects aviation demand and, by extension, noise and capacity pressures at airports such as Sea-Tac.