Passenger Favorite Paine Field Emerges as an Economic Force for the North Sound

By Pablo Colindres Moreno
For Economic Alliance Snohomish County

In June, The Washington Post named Seattle Paine Field the #5 Best Small Airport in the United States. The Post based its analysis on real feedback from passengers, including airport statistics and even Yelp reviews. 

This is excellent news, of course. Passengers flying out of and into Paine Field are having a stellar experience, and they’re talking about it to others. As exciting as it is to see hard work paying off, Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports, was not surprised by the accolades.

At most airports, gates and waiting areas feel very much like transitional spaces, not really meant for any other activity than waiting. Flying out of Paine Field, however, is one of the best airport experiences passengers have had, according to the reviews. Passengers breeze through the line for TSA and walk into the waiting lounge, an ample space with plenty of natural light filling the room.

Propeller Airports signed a 50-year lease with Snohomish County, breaking ground on the terminal in 2017 and opening on March 4, 2019. That year, Paine Field served about 1 million passengers. However, the pandemic dropped passenger rates all across the country, and Paine Field was no different.

Since then, Paine Field reached 580,000 passengers in the last year, with numbers already much higher at this point in the year than last year. At the gate, Alaska Airlines has expanded their flight options, and Frontier Airlines (which began operations at Paine Field in June) is already flying at full capacity, according to Propeller. Direct flights to Denver, Phoenix and Las Vegas now operate three times a week from the airport. While Paine Field has yet to meet pre-pandemic levels of traffic, the steady growth gives Propeller, and the county, the confidence to move forward with expansion plans, which were under development even only after the first year of operation in 2019.

In May, during Economic Alliance Snohomish County’s (EASC) annual Snohomish County Update, county Executive Dave Somers signed an executive order which instructs relevant county departments to initiate coordination, capital planning, budgeting, environmental studies and more. While construction won’t start right away, the order kickstarts the complex processes needed to set the expansion up for success.

According to the executive order, the expansion should create a viable second option for travelers who currently have to fly out of SeaTac. Heavy auto traffic getting to the airport and facilities operating above intended passenger traffic can make the experience a long, daunting proposition. While a concurrent expansion to SeaTac is set to improve its capacity to 56 million passengers a year by 2036, that number is still 10 million short of its projected growth in the same timeline. Paine Field’s expansion will grow the airport’s capacity to 4 million passengers a year by 2034.

“That is significant but manageable growth for our county airport,” said Somers in the press release announcing the order. The county counts on the added capacity to bring economic opportunity while easing the regional pressure on air travel. With high-profile events like the FIFA World Cup® coming to the Pacific Northwest next year, and a higher volume of events coming to the region via venue renovations such as Climate Pledge Arena and a new multi-use venue being built in Everett, this expansion will help relieve an already strained infrastructure and make travel in our surrounding area less stressful.

For the larger North Sound region, the expansion also represents new opportunities for industry and trade. Paine Field’s strategic location offers various advantages, close enough to several ports of entry and major transportation arteries but far enough away from the center of our dense metro area to maintain high efficiency. The existing runway can easily handle a larger volume of traffic.

“That is significant but manageable growth for our county airport,” said Somers in the press release announcing the order. The county counts on the added capacity to bring economic opportunity while easing the regional pressure on air travel.

For the larger North Sound region, the expansion also represents new opportunities for industry and trade. Paine Field’s strategic location offers various advantages, close enough to several ports of entry and major transportation arteries but far enough away from the center of our dense metro area to maintain high efficiency. The existing runway can easily handle a larger volume of traffic.

“Airports are powerful economic engines, and Paine Field is no exception. Its growth means more jobs, more trade, and more opportunity for our county and the entire region,” Smith explained.

As trade policies shift and generate higher costs for material and supplies, saving money on transporting goods from farther ports of entry presents a welcome relief for the region’s business community. 

Already, Snohomish County hosts more aerospace companies than anywhere else on the West Coast. Greater Seattle is home to the largest aerospace supply chain in the United States, according to Greater Seattle’s Aerospace Industry 2024 Report. Research into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) within the SAF Center is a major priority for the industry, and Paine Field is one of a handful of airports in the country that offer Sustainable Aviation Fuel, supplied by Propeller Aero Services. Major innovation companies such as ZeroAvia also call Paine Field’s facilities and immediate surroundings home. 

“Around the county, companies like Lafarge & Egge, Echandia, magniX and Portal Space Systems (which recently announced expansion plans) will gain easier access to imports and materials via the airport,” said Ray Stephanson, EASC President and CEO. “Access boosts progress in these fields and will complement the region’s status as the home of the state’s aerospace industry.” 

Beyond aerospace, a diverse and flourishing landscape of advanced manufacturing, life sciences and medical devices and information and communication technology (ICT) will gain simplified local access to international commerce.

“Expanding the airport’s capacity strengthens our position as the center of gravity for sustainable aviation innovation. It sends a clear message: if you’re building the next generation of aerospace, this is where you want to be.”

Paine Field’s recognition as one of the top small airports in the country is not just a point of civic pride. This expansion directly supports Snohomish County’s long-range economic development strategy by strengthening our regional logistics network, enhancing market access and aligning with workforce mobility goals. The expansion will unlock new capacity, attract greater investment and encourage business retention, making Snohomish County an even more compelling destination for innovation.

The expansion is a boon to our region, and a critical step in uplifting the economy and the communities we serve. For companies evaluating where to land and grow, infrastructure matters — and Paine Field will deliver.