10.28.24

Cantwell Tours Yakima Airport & Talks Investments Needed to Meet Future PNW Air Travel Demands

Airport exploring opportunities for regional electric aircraft as a “pressure release valve” for Sea-Tac; Cantwell calls for more flexibility in federal funding program to help smaller airports innovate This week, Yakima Airport also received $1M federal grant to build a moving baggage carousel

YAKIMA, WA – On Friday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Yakima Airport Director Robert Hodgman and Yakima City Manager Vicki Baker for a discussion on the airport’s recent service expansions and future plans, followed by a tour of the airport.

During the discussion, Director Hodgman discussed the airport’s plans to seek federal funding that would help build out electric charging infrastructure to support non-polluting, small commuter planes – eventually providing short-haul travelers an alternative to SeaTac’s passenger capacity issues.

"This is a pressure release valve for Sea-Tac. People in Arlington, people in Auburn, instead of going to Sea-Tac, they can just go to their local airport and fly here,” he said. "We become a hub within a hub.”

The airport is seeking funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program to build the charging stations. Director Hodgman also emphasized that the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds could help with Yakima Airport’s development of electric commuter flights, but that the current regulations on AIP funding make it harder for smaller airports to take full advantage of the program. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which was led by Sen. Cantwell as chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, included provisions to expand and improve the AIP to promote airport sustainability and environmental resiliency. The law also establishes (1) a DOT pilot program to help airports acquire infrastructure or equipment, such as charging infrastructure, to support electric aircraft operations, and (2) a DOT grant program to help airports plan and assess energy power requirements, including to support airport gate and vehicle electrification and electric charging infrastructure.

"AIP is designed primarily for the airfield -- runways, taxiways aprons, fencing, lighting, communications systems," Director Hodgman said. 

Sen. Cantwell responded: “We just need more flexibility in the AIP program, particularly as it relates to regional airports who are trying to implement this next-generation aviation infrastructure, right? And you're signing up to be the one who wants to do it."

Earlier this week, the airport also received a $1 million federal grant from the FAA’s Airport Terminal Program (ATP) to replace the airport’s current slide baggage chute with a new moving baggage carousel. Sen. Cantwell wrote a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of the project. She also played a key role in securing $5 billion for the ATP nationwide in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is the program that provided this grant.

Video of the full roundtable discussion and b-roll of Sen. Cantwell’s tour of the airport is HERE; and photos are HERE.