Metropolitan Transportation System: Regional Airports
May 2004, Revised August 2004
The Regional Airport System consists of one primary commercial service airport, 5 general aviation reliever airports, 16 other general aviation airports, 4 seaplane bases, and 2 military airfields. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the region's major commercial service airport, served nearly 28 million passengers and 355,000 flights in 2003. The entire airport system served over 2 million take-offs and landings in 2003, and was home to 3,734 based aircraft (over half the state's total).
Recent planning efforts for the regional airport system are highlighted by the 1996 PSRC decision to approve a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport (PSRC Resolution A-96-02), the 2001 Regional Airport System Plan, and the Strategic Plan for Aviation, completed in 2002. These planning efforts established strong regional policy and direction for the regional airport system, and set benchmarks for measuring future system performance.
This is the first performance monitoring report on the regional airport system. It presents historical data on air passengers, air cargo, aircraft operations (take-offs and landings), and based aircraft. It also presents monitoring results for a series of airport system performance measures and provides an update on the region's progress implementing aviation-related policy. It discusses emerging issues facing the regional airport system, outlines the need for improved data regarding the airport system, and identifies areas for improving future airport system performance monitoring efforts.
Report
Metropolitan Transportation System: Regional Airports [pdf 1.8MB]
For more information, contact Stephen Kiehl, 206-971-3290, skiehl@psrc.org.
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