News - Local News

POSTED: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009

Runway project could expand air service in Bellingham

BELLINGHAM - A $24.6 million runway resurfacing project at Bellingham International Airport next summer will pave the way for bigger planes that could someday provide direct service to Hawaii, Chicago or the East Coast.

But the resurfacing comes with one big complication: The runway will have to be shut down for as long as two weeks to get the job done. That means no air service here while the work is in progress.

Art Choat, aviation director at the Port of Bellingham, said the timing of the shutdown has not been determined, but said early September 2010 was a likely period. Paving crews will work around the clock during the shutdown, he said.

The project has been in the works for months, but its scope was upgraded recently on orders from the Federal Aviation Administration, Choat told port commissioners Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The FAA, which will pay 95 percent of the resurfacing cost, wants Bellingham to be ready to accommodate bigger, heavier planes, such as the Boeing 757, Choat said.

The 150-passenger MD-80 operated by Allegiant Air is now the largest aircraft operating out of Bellingham regularly. Choat told commissioners that a 757 can hold 200 or more passengers, and can fly longer routes than the MD-80.

Allegiant officials have acknowledged some interest in providing service from Bellingham to Hawaii, which would require a 757 or similar-class plane. For now, Allegiant's fleet is all MD-80s.

After the meeting, Choat said other air carriers have made informal inquiries about service between Bellingham and Chicago.

Choat told commissioners that 757 flights here would probably not add to the airport's noise impacts, although that issue remains to be studied as part of the runway planning process. He said the 757 is newer and quieter than the MD-80, and noted that if Allegiant switched to the larger plane, the company could carry more passengers out of Bellingham with fewer flights.

The project includes resurfacing and widening the taxiway that parallels the 6,750-foot runway.

Shammi Ratti, senior airport civil engineer with URS Corp., told commissioners that the existing runway and taxiway surfaces are deteriorating and that the airport can't continue to rely on temporary repairs.

"It's really time for the fix, and we want to do it right," Ratti said.

Choat said he would discuss the timing of the paving shutdown with airline officials in the next couple of months. He said the shutdown period must be long enough to allow for weather delays, and the airlines will need six months' notice on the scheduling of the shutdown.

Once the shutdown period is set, any unexpected delays would mean flight cancellations that would cost airlines money and infuriate passengers, so the port and the paving contractor will have to do their utmost to stay on schedule, he said.