BELLINGHAM AIRPORT ASSISTANCE

History of Bellingham International Airport

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) began studying a potential airport for Whatcom County in late 1935 as part of a programme to build airports in large Washington cities. A plan to build an airport west of Bellingham was endorsed by Washington's state WPA office by the end of the year and the head office the following July. On October 20, 1936, Whatcom County purchased 200 acres (0.81 km2) from Charles F. Larrabee to build an airport using WPA funds. Construction of the airport began on October 22 under the supervision of the WPA. Three runways were planned, but only the first was initially built; it was 3,600 ft (1,100 m) long by 150 ft (46 m) wide, and it was completed and dedicated on June 1, 1940. 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 were safe enough for their DC-3s, and it maintained its Port of Entry status.

Transportation of Bellingham International Airport services

The early 21st century saw rapid expansion at the Bellingham International Airport from several air carriers operating mainline jet aircraft, with these airlines being motivated by the potential passenger loads from lower mainland British Columbia in Canada. Allegiant's commitment to the airport has led to a rapid rise in passenger numbers and the introduction of a number of nonstop destinations served from Bellingham. Other airlines initially recognized the potential of Bellingham International's location and further expanded service into the airport, but all commercial airlines except Alaska, Allegiant, and Southwest had departed as of 2023.

In early 2007, Bellingham International hosted nonstop service to three destinations by the short-lived Western Airlines, which was operating Boeing 737-400 jets and was based in Bellingham. Western attempted to establish a small hub at the airport with nonstop service to Ontario, California (ONT), Phoenix, Arizona (via the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, AZA), and San Diego, California (SAN). Later the same year, Sky bus Airlines operated nonstop flights to their Columbus, Ohio (CMH) hub with Airbus A319 jetliners but then shut down quickly like Western Airlines had done earlier. Between June 2006 and April 2008, Delta Air Lines also used to serve Bellingham with flights to Salt Lake City operated by their regional affiliate, SkyWest Airlines.

On March 1, 2008, Allegiant Air opened up their sixth base at Bellingham International Airport. The airline currently bases a number of aircraft in Bellingham, which serves as a focus city for the airline. In 2012, Allegiant announced service to two locations in the Hawaiian Islands (Honolulu and Kahului) from Bellingham after receiving ETOPS certification from the FAA for their 757 aircraft. Alaska also entered the market with flights to Honolulu, Kahului, and Kona. As of July 2019, both Allegiant and Alaska no longer serve Hawaii from Bellingham. Allegiant has also unsuccessfully tried serving other markets from Bellingham in recent years, such as Denver, Tucson, Reno, and Anchorage.

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 order to provide Allegiant 757 service to Honolulu and Maui, which began operations in November 2012.

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