King County International Airport (IATA: BFI, ICAO: KBFI, FAALID: BFI), commonly Boeing Field, is a public airport owned and operated by King County, 5 mi (8.0 km) south of downtown Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.[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 by Kenmore Air, a commuter air carrier, and was being served by JSX with regional jet flights. It is also a hub for UPS Airlines. It is also used by other cargo airlines and general aviation aircraft. The airfield is named for founder of Boeing, William E. Boeing, and was constructed in 1928, serving as the city's primary airport until the opening of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in 1944. The airport's property is mostly in Seattle just south of Georgetown, with its southern tip extending into Tukwila. The airport covers 634 acres (257 ha), averages more than 180,000 operations annually, and has approximately 380 based aircraft.[1]
History
Boeing Field was Seattle's main passenger airport from its construction in 1928 until Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) began operations in the late 1940s, with the exception of its use for military purposes during World War II. The Boeing Company continues to use the field for testing and delivery of its airplanes, and it is still a regional cargo hub. It is used by Air Force One when the President of the United States visits the Seattle area.
The August 1946 OAG lists 24 United Airlines weekday departures, 10 weekly flights on Northwest Airlines and several Pan AmDouglas DC-3s a week to Juneau via Annette Island Airport which was the airfield serving Ketchikan at the time. Northwest moved to SEA in 1947, United moved in 1949, and Pan Am in 1953.[2]West Coast Airlines was operating scheduled passenger Douglas DC-3 service from the airport by November 1946 and served Boeing Field for many years.[3] West Coast successors Air West followed by Hughes Airwest operated scheduled passenger flights including McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service until 1971 when Hughes Airwest moved its service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.[4] West Coast began operating Douglas DC-9-10 jet service from Boeing Field in 1968.[5]
Boeing Field terminal interior, showing the ticket counters of Kenmore Air and SeaPort Airlines, before the latter discontinued service to the airport in 2012
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 by Southwest Airlines in June 2005 was submitted to King County to relocate from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Boeing Field, but was rejected by King County ExecutiveRon Sims in October. A similar proposal by Alaska 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.[6]
The transfer of ownership of Boeing Field from King County to the Port of Seattle was proposed in 2007 as part of a land swap with land owned by the Port.[7] Boeing Field is planned to handle more cargo traffic, including "overflow" from nearby Sea-Tac, as part of its long-range plans.[8]
The airport covers 634 acres (257 ha) at an elevation of 21 feet (6 m). It has two asphaltrunways: 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, 26 helicopter, and 1 glider.[1]
The runway numbers were updated from 13/31 to 14/32 in August 2017, due to shifting magnetic headings.
General aviation
In addition to tie-down parking areas and hangars for general aviation aircraft, the airport is home for several fixed-base operators (FBOs) including Skyservice, Modern Aviation, and Signature Flight Support. Executive Flight Maintenance and Galvin Flying provides maintenance services. Airlift Northwest operates emergency medical services (EMS) and on-demand helicopter flights.[12]
Boeing Company
The Boeing Company has facilities at the airport. Final preparations for delivery of Boeing 737 aircraft after the first test flight are made at Boeing Field.[13] Boeing facilities at the airport have also included a paint hangar[14] and flight test facilities.[15] The initial assembly of the 737 was at Boeing Field in the 1960s because the factory in Renton was at capacity building the Boeing 707 and Boeing 727. After 271 aircraft, production moved to Renton in late 1970.[16][17]
Museum of Flight
The Museum of Flight is on the southwest corner of the field. Among the aircraft on display is the first Boeing 747, the third Boeing 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.[18] Aircraft on the airfield can be seen from the museum.
Police and fire response
The King County International Airport contracts with the King 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.
In later years, West Coast Airlines operated scheduled passenger flights from Boeing Field to Idaho, Oregon, Washington state, northern California, western Montana, northern Utah, and Calgary in Alberta. The airline's April 1968 timetable lists nonstop service to Aberdeen, WA/Hoquiam, WA, Boise, ID, Olympia, WA, Pasco, WA, Portland, OR, Salt Lake City, UT, Spokane, WA, Tacoma, WA, Wenatchee, WA and Yakima, WA operated with primarily with Fairchild F-27 prop-jets as well as Douglas DC-3 and Piper Navajo prop aircraft but also with Douglas DC-9 jets to Portland, Boise and Salt Lake City.[24] West Coast, which had its headquarters in the Seattle area and operated all of its flights from Boeing Field, merged with Pacific Air Lines and Bonanza Air Lines to form Air West (later renamed Hughes Airwest following its acquisition by Howard 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 nonstop McDonnell 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 operating Fairchild 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.[25]
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 to Yakima Air Terminal.[31] 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.[32]
Accidents at or near BFI
On January 2, 1949, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain operated by Seattle Air Charter crashed after takeoff due to ice and frost on the surfaces of the wings. There were 14 fatalities among the three crew and 27 passengers on board.[33]
On July 19, 1949, a Curtiss C-46 Commando operated by Air Transport Associates crashed into a house after taking off due to loss of power to the left engine. Two passengers were killed out of 32 on board, along with one ground fatality.[34]
On November 17, 1955, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster operated by Peninsular Air Transport crashed into a residential area 2.5 miles south of Boeing Field. There were 28 fatalities among the 74 passengers and crew.[35]
^"Enplanements for CY 2008"(PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
^"Enplanements for CY 2010"(PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011. Archived(PDF) from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
^Tinseth, Randy. "Boeing Field 1969". Randy's Journal. Boeing. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
^Wallace, James (February 12, 2006). "Boeing delivers its 5,000th 737". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
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