Bellingham International Airport

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Bellingham International Airport
1998 USGS photo
  • IATA: BLI
  • ICAO: KBLI
  • FAA LID: BLI
    BLI is located in Washington (state)
    BLI
    BLI
    Location of airport in Washington
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorPort of Bellingham
LocationWhatcom County, near Bellingham, Washington
Elevation AMSL170 ft / 51.8 m
Coordinates48°47′33.9″N 122°32′15.1″W / 48.792750°N 122.537528°W / 48.792750; -122.537528
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34 6,701 2,042 Asphalt

Bellingham International Airport (IATA: BLI, ICAO: KBLI, FAA LID: BLI) is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, USA. The airport has a single runway. Due to the proximity to British Columbia, the Bellingham International Airport functions as a low fare alternative airport to the Vancouver International Airport. On the Allegiant website the airport is referred to as Bellingham/Vancouver.

The airport is presently undergoing a significant expansion to the commercial passenger terminal building which will increase the size of the terminal building from 27,000 square feet (2,500 m2) to 85,000 square feet (7,900 m2). The first phase of the expansion is complete with a new gate area completed and temporary portable waiting areas removed. The gate area comprises five gates, a coffee and snack shop and a restaurant which is still under construction. The second phase of the expansion will add a baggage carousel in addition to larger ticketing and pre-security areas for passengers, scheduled to be completed by 2013.


History

In 1936, Whatcom County obtained 200 acres (0.81 km2) for an airport at the current airport site. Three runways were planned, but it took almost four years to get the first 5000' x 150' runway cleared and paved. Temporary Port of Entry status was secured early, but the slow construction left it in a continually tenuous state - United Airlines would only base there if the field was safe enough for their DC-3's, and it maintained its Port of Entry status. Ultimately they built a terminal, designed by F. Stanley Piper, and the airport was dedicated in 1940, having employed more than 500 people.

In 1940, the United States Army Corps of Engineers took over the facility and expanded it to three full runways, revetments for parking aircraft, and development of personnel quarters. During World War II the airport was used by Fourth Air Force immediately after the Pearl Harbor Attack for air defense of the Pacific Coast. It was later used by Air Transport Command and Air Technical Service Command as an intermediate ferrying field for Lend-Lease aircraft being flown to Alaska for subsequent transfer to the Soviet Union.

The USAAF closed the facility in September 1946, and it was turned over to the War Assets Administration for disposal. It slowly was returned to Whatcom County and was redeveloped as a civil airport in the late 1940s. Currently, only the longest of the runways (16/34) is used. The two diagonal runways have fallen into disrepair, their easternmost ends used as taxiways between tarmacs and the sole remaining runway.

In the 1990's homes were purchased to extend the runway in an effort to attract air carriers. The assumption at the time is that there would not be a third runway at Sea-Tac airport. The airport has seen a high turnover rate.

In early 2007, Bellingham International hosted service to three destinations by the short-lived Western Airlines. Later the same year, Skybus Airlines provided flights to their hub in Ohio, but shut down quickly like Western Airlines had done earlier. On March 1, 2008, Allegiant Air opened up their sixth base at Bellingham International Airport. The airline currently bases 4 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft in Bellingham, with a fifth expected in the near future, as part of the expansion.

Since a majority of the passengers are now Canadian, in 2010, the British Columbia government in an effort to retain catchment have frozen landing fees and abolished the fuel tax.

In September 2010, the airport completed a $26 million resurfacing of the runway to allow aircraft up to the size of Boeing 757s to utilize the airport. This project was completed in anticipation of Allegiant 757 service to Hawaii beginning sometime in mid to late 2012 once Allegiant completes the certification process to fly to Hawaii with its newly aquired 757 aircraft.

The cost of the expansion to the terminal building, to be completed by 2013, accelerated from the original completion date of 2018, is covered by surcharges from passengers and parking fees.[1]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Alaska Airlines[2] Honolulu, Las Vegas
Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Portland (OR) [begins June 5, 2012]
Allegiant Air[3] Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix/Mesa, San Diego
Seasonal: Palm Springs
Frontier Airlines[4] Seasonal: Denver [begins May 24, 2012]
San Juan Airlines[5]
Eastsound, Friday Harbor, Lopez, Roche Harbor

Top Destinations

Top ten busiest domestic routes out of BLI
(July 2010 - June 2011) [6]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Nevada Las Vegas, NV 187,000 Alaska, Allegiant
2 Washington (state) Seattle, WA 111,000 Alaska
3 Hawaii Honolulu, HI 24,000 Alaska
4 Arizona Phoenix-Mesa, AZ 23,000 Allegiant
5 California Palm Springs, CA 23,000 Allegiant
6 California Oakland, CA 22,000 Allegiant
7 California San Diego, CA 16,000 Allegiant
8 California Los Angeles, CA 16,000 Allegiant
9 California Long Beach, CA 15,000 Allegiant
10 Oregon Portland, OR 2,000 -

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ "Port moves ahead on $30 million Bellingham airport terminal expansion". The Bellingham Herald. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ http://media.frontierairlines.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5331
  5. ^ "Bellingham to San Juan Islands". San Juan Airlines. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  6. ^ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=BLI&Airport_Name=Bellingham,%20WA:%20Bellingham%20International&carrier=FACTS

External links

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