King County International Airport "Boeing Field" | |||||||||||||||
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 An aerial shot of the airport | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | King County | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Seattle metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Seattle /Tukwila,King County,Washington, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 21 ft / 6 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 47°31′48″N122°18′07″W / 47.53000°N 122.30194°W /47.53000; -122.30194 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | kingcounty | ||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||
 FAA diagram | |||||||||||||||
 Interactive map of King County International Airport "Boeing Field" | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2018) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||
King County International Airport (IATA:BFI,ICAO:KBFI,FAALID:BFI), commonly known asBoeing Field, is a public airport owned and operated byKing County, 5 mi (8.0 km) south of downtownSeattle, in the U.S. state ofWashington.[1] The airport is sometimes referred to as KCIA (King County International Airport), but it is not the airport identifier. The airport has scheduled passenger service operated byKenmore Air, a commuter air carrier, and was being served byJSX with regional jet flights. It is also a hub forUPS Airlines. It is also used by othercargo airlines andgeneral aviation aircraft. The airfield is named for founder ofBoeing,William E. Boeing, and was constructed in 1928, serving as the city's primary airport until the opening ofSeattle–Tacoma International Airport in 1944. The airport's property is mostly in Seattle just south ofGeorgetown, with its southern tip extending intoTukwila. The airport covers 634 acres (257 ha), averages more than 180,000 operations annually, and has approximately 380 based aircraft.[1]
Aviation history in Seattle began in 1910 whenCharles Hamilton performed an air show at The Meadows racetrack, located on the site of the present-dayMuseum of Flight. Hamilton executed diving maneuvers and staged a race between an aircraft and an automobile. After crashing and landing in a pond at the center of the track, he repaired his aircraft and resumed flying the following day.[2]
A 1911 Seattle development plan proposed transforming the Duwamish Valley into an industrial zone.William Boeing acquired a shipbuilding facility on the western bank of the Duwamish River, where he founded Pacific Aero Products, later renamedBoeing Airplane Company. The factory manufactured 50Boeing Model 2 training aircraft during World War I, testing them on a sandy field west of the Duwamish River. This testing ground eventually developed into King County Airport.[2]
In 1928, King County voters approved a $950,000 plan to build the region's first municipal airport.[3] The airport's proximity to the Boeing Airplane Company and its use by Pacific Air Transport's regular airmail service led to its naming as "Boeing Field."[4] Construction of the runway began on March 28, 1928, using material dredged from the Duwamish River bed. At that time, the airport site was served by three railroad lines and Highway 99.[4]
Construction of the first county-owned hangars began shortly after the airport's opening. The administration building and terminal were officially inaugurated on April 21, 1930. Boeing Field served as Seattle's sole passenger terminal throughout the 1930s, providing passenger services, flight schedule information, and meteorological data for airlines. Regular flights to Portland and San Francisco were operated by West Coast Air Transport and Pacific Air Transport. These carriers later merged to createUnited Airlines, which pioneered both 28-hour transcontinental service and the first flight attendant corps composed of trained nurses.[2]
By 1935, the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce (laterFederal Aviation Administration) began investigating the construction of a new airport elsewhere in King County due to risks associated with the high ridge east of Boeing Field.[4] In the late 1930s, as war threatened Europe, Boeing shifted to round-the-clock operations, intensifying production ofB-17 andB-29 bombers, which became crucial support for U.S. efforts during World War II.[2][3]
Galvin Airport, built in 1941 about five miles south of Boeing Field, later became the region's main passenger airport, now known asSeattle-Tacoma International Airport ("Sea-Tac"). This development changed Boeing Field's function, as it evolved into a significant regional general aviation and industrial airport.[2] The firstBoeing 707 jet airliner prototype, nicknamed "Dash 80," departed from Renton Airport and made its inaugural landing at Boeing Field in 1954, marking aviation's entry into the jet age.[2][3]
A new control tower was constructed at the airport in 1962,[3] though regular airline service from Boeing Field ceased in 1971.[4] In 1981, the Airpark hangar complex was built to accommodate 20 business jets.[3] The SeattleMuseum of Flight opened in 1987. An expansion of the Airpark hangar complex in 1988 added 16 more spaces.[3]
The August 1946OAG lists 24United Airlines weekday departures, 10 weekly flights onNorthwest Airlines and severalPan AmDouglas DC-3s a week toJuneau viaAnnette Island Airport which was the airfield servingKetchikan at the time. Northwest moved to SEA in 1947, United moved in 1949, and Pan Am in 1953.[5]West Coast Airlines was operating scheduled passengerDouglas DC-3 service from the airport by November 1946 and served Boeing Field for many years.[6] West Coast successors Air West followed byHughes Airwest operated scheduled passenger flights includingMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service until 1971 when Hughes Airwest moved its service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.[7] West Coast began operatingDouglas DC-9-10 jet service from Boeing Field in 1968.[8]
Boeing Field has one passenger airline,Kenmore Air with daily flights to Friday Harbor and Eastsound/Orcas Island. Before 2019, the last scheduled passenger jets were operated by Hughes Airwest with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s in 1971. A proposal bySouthwest Airlines in June 2005 was submitted to King County to relocate from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Boeing Field, but was rejected byKing County ExecutiveRon Sims in October. A similar proposal byAlaska Airlines (a response to the Southwest proposal) was also rejected. Southwest Airlines said it wanted to avoid the heavy fees at Sea-Tac due to its expansion program.[9]
The transfer of ownership of Boeing Field from King County to thePort of Seattle was proposed in 2007 as part of a land swap with land owned by the Port.[10] Boeing Field is planned to handle more cargo traffic, including "overflow" from nearby Sea-Tac, as part of its long-range plans.[11]
TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015called it aprimary commercial service airport.[12]Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 34,597 passenger boardings (enplanements) incalendar year 2008,[13] 35,863 in 2009 and 33,656 in 2010.[14]
The airport covers 634 acres (257 ha) at anelevation of 21 feet (6 m). It has twoasphaltrunways: 14R/32L is 10,007 by 200 feet (3,050 x 61 m) and 14L/32R is 3,709 by 100 feet (1,131 x 30 m).[1]
In the year ending January 1, 2019 the airport had 183,268 aircraft operations, average 502 per day: 79%general aviation, 15%air taxi, 6% airline, and <1% military. 384 aircraft were then based at this airport: 229 single-engine, 40 multi-engine, 88 jet, 26helicopter, and 1glider.[1]
The runway numbers were updated from 13/31 to 14/32 in August 2017, due to shifting magnetic headings.
In addition to tie-down parking areas and hangars for general aviation aircraft, the airport is home for severalfixed-base operators (FBOs) including Skyservice, Modern Aviation, and Signature Flight Support. Executive Flight Maintenance provides maintenance services. Airlift Northwest operatesemergency medical services (EMS) and on-demand helicopter flights.[15]
TheBoeing Company has facilities at the airport. Final preparations for delivery ofBoeing 737 aircraft after the first test flight are made at Boeing Field.[16] Boeing facilities at the airport have also included a paint hangar[17] and flight test facilities.[18] The initial assembly of the 737 was at Boeing Field in the 1960s because the factory inRenton was at capacity building theBoeing 707 andBoeing 727. After 271 aircraft, production moved to Renton in late 1970.[19][20]
The Museum of Flight is on the southwest corner of the field. Among the aircraft on display is the firstBoeing 747, the thirdBoeing 787, and an ex-British AirwaysConcorde, lent to the museum from BA, a supersonic airliner that landed at Boeing Field on its first visit to Seattle on November 15, 1984.[21] Aircraft on the airfield can be seen from the museum.
The King County International Airport contracts with theKing County Sheriff's Office for police services. Deputies assigned to the airport wear a mix of both Police and Fire uniforms, turnouts etc., which includes single Police, Fire/ARFF patch, and drive King County International Airport Police patrol cars. There are currently 17 patrol officers/sergeants and one chief assigned full-time to the airport. Officers assigned to the airport are also required to obtain a Washington State Fire Fighter One certification and an Emergency Medical Technician certification.[22]
| Airlines | Destinations | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| Kenmore Air | Eastsound,Friday Harbor,Victoria Charter:Vancouver | [23][24] |
| SeaPort Airlines | Portland (OR) | [25] |
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In 1945,Northwest Airlines was operating all flights from the airport with 21-passenger seatDouglas DC-3s with direct service to such major cities asMinneapolis/St. Paul, MN,Milwaukee,Chicago,Detroit andNew York City with these eastbound flights making intermediate stops enroute at smaller cities such asSpokane,Great Falls,Missoula,Helena,Billings and other small cities.[26]United Airlines was operatingDouglas DC-6,Douglas DC-4 and Douglas DC-3 service from Boeing Field in 1947 with direct, no change of plane flights toSan Francisco,Los Angeles,Salt Lake City,Denver,Boise,Oakland,Burbank,San Diego,Vancouver, B.C.,Chicago,Cleveland,Washington, D.C.,Philadelphia andNew York City.[27] At this same time in 1947, United was also operating 20 nonstop flights on a daily basis toPortland, OR as well as a daily nonstop DC-6 flight to San Francisco named "The California" which continued on to Los Angeles on a one stop basis with the airline also operating daily direct service from the airport to smaller cities in Washington state, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nebraska and Iowa.[27] In 1950,Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was operating weekly nonstopBoeing 377 Stratocruiser service from Boeing Field nonstop toHonolulu with this flight continuing on toManila where connections were offered to Pan Am Douglas DC-4 flights toHong Kong andSingapore.[28] Pan Am was also operating Douglas DC-4 service from the airport in 1950 nonstop toFairbanks, AK with direct one stop service toNome, AK as well as DC-4 nonstop service toKetchikan, AK (via theAnnette Island Airport) with flights continuing on toJuneau, AK followed byWhitehorse, Yukon in Canada and then on to Fairbanks.[28]
In later years,West Coast Airlines operated scheduled passenger flights from Boeing Field to Idaho, Oregon, Washington state, northern California, western Montana, northern Utah, andCalgary inAlberta. The airline's April 1968 timetable lists nonstop service toAberdeen, WA/Hoquiam, WA,Boise, ID,Olympia, WA,Pasco, WA,Portland, OR,Salt Lake City, UT,Spokane, WA,Tacoma, WA,Wenatchee, WA andYakima, WA operated with primarily withFairchild F-27 prop-jets as well as Douglas DC-3 andPiper Navajo prop aircraft but also withDouglas DC-9 jets to Portland, Boise and Salt Lake City.[29] West Coast, which had its headquarters in the Seattle area and operated all of its flights from Boeing Field, merged withPacific Air Lines andBonanza Air Lines to formAir West (later renamedHughes Airwest following its acquisition byHoward Hughes in 1970) which continued serving Boeing Field until it moved its passenger service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in 1971. Before the move to SEA, in January 1971 Hughes Airwest was operating nonstopMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service from the airport to Portland, Spokane and Pasco as well as direct, no change of plane DC-9-30 service to Boise, Calgary, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Twin Falls, Lewiston, Phoenix and Tucson, and was also operatingFairchild F-27 turboprop service from BFI at this time to Astoria, Bend, Ephrata, Hoquiam, Klamath Falls, Lewiston, Olympia, Pasco, Portland, Pullman, Sacramento, Spokane, Tacoma, Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Yakima.[30]
Aeroamerica, an airline based at Boeing Field from 1971 to 1982 which operatedBoeing 707 andBoeing 720 jetliners, flew nonstop toSpokane, Washington in 1978.[31]Air Oregon, a commuter airline, operatedSwearingen Metro propjets in 1979 nonstop to its hub inPortland, Oregon.[32]Helijet, a helicopter airline based atVancouver International Airport inBritish Columbia, operated scheduledSikorsky S-76 helicopter flights to theVictoria Harbour Heliport in British Columbia with direct one stop service to Helijet'sVancouver Harbour Heliport located in the downtown Vancouver, B.C. area.[33]
JSX began service between Boeing Field andOakland International Airport on July 1, 2019 usingEmbraer 135 regional jets.[34] As a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic, JSX announced in April 2020 that it would indefinitely cease its flights from Boeing Field.[35]
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against King County in 2020 to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flights to leave from Boeing Field. The county had previously halted the practice, forcing the flights to be redirected toYakima Air Terminal.[36] In March 2023, a federal judge issued a court order allowing deportation flights to resume from Boeing Field. For each flight, airport officials allow community members to gather in an observation room and watch the aircraft using the airport's video system. Each month, King County updates its website with available information about past deportation flights.[37]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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