Yakima Airport Officials Tout Electric Aircraft Possibilities During Cantwell Visit

Oct. 26—Since being hired as Yakima's airport director, Rob Hodgman has discussed the state's future air travel needs, and Yakima's role in helping meet them, to anyone who will listen.

That continued Friday morning, as Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell visited McAllister Field to talk about federal funding for improvements at the 70-year-old passenger terminal, along with the future of electric aviation with Hodgman, Yakima City Manager Vicki Baker and others.

"We know electric aircraft will be part of the future of air travel," Cantwell said. She said more flexibility is needed in federal Airport Improvement Program funding "especially for airports that want to be part of the next generation of aircraft."

Hodgman assured Cantwell that the Yakima airport is planning for electric aircraft charging. He shared a map showing where four charging areas for multiple airplanes could be placed in the future — two to the west of the passenger terminal and two to the east.

He has discussed the increased power required to charge electric airplane batteries with local utility officials, noting that although charging areas are at least a decade in the future, they would require 30 megawatts of additional power.

That electricity could come from solar or other renewable forms of energy, and Hodgman hoped most of the charging could come at non-peak hours for electric usage.

Yakima's role in electric-powered aviation

Hodgman updated Cantwell and her staff members attending Friday's discussion on efforts of six airports across Washington to obtain a federal grant for airplane charging infrastructure.

Besides Yakima, the airports include Chehalis- Centralia, Friday Harbor, Port Angeles, Everett's Paine Field and Boeing Field in Seattle.

Chehalis-Centralia Airport Director Brandon Rakes has taken the lead on the nearly $10 million funding request, which if awarded would pay for one or two charging stations at each airport, the Chronicle newspaper reported.

This could be the start of point-to-point electric air service between these airports, Hodgman told Cantwell, and the beginning of a regional electric aviation network.

Hodgman also briefed Cantwell on the ongoing issues with capacity and overcrowding at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Yakima's continued willingness to be part of the solution.

He previously served as a senior aviation planner for the Washington State Department of Transportation, and in that role, advised a state-appointed group seeking new sites to supplement or replace Sea-Tac for transportation of cargo and passengers.

As that process broke down without a new site recommendation last year, Hodgman — in his new role as Yakima Air Terminal director — described how electric aircraft can transport people from nearly all corners of Washington state to the centrally-located Yakima airport. From there, larger-sized aircraft can take them to their destinations across the country.

He told Cantwell on Friday that Yakima's airport can accommodate all sizes of 737 aircraft and all but the largest 757s with its existing runways. There is room for expansion and no conflict with airspace, unlike in much of the Puget Sound region, he said.

Cantwell recalled when a Delta Airbus A330 airplane — equivalent in size to a Boeing 777 — was diverted to the Yakima airport in December of last year due to fog at Sea-Tac and low fuel, illustrating Hodgman's point about runway capacity.

Hodgman added that electric-powered aircraft could reach centrally located Yakima within 30 to 45 minutes from just about every corner of the state.

"Instead of going to Sea-Tac, people in Auburn, people in Arlington can go to their own local airport and fly here to Yakima" and make connections elsewhere, Hodgman said.

Baker, the recently hired Yakima city manager, said that transporting cargo is another opportunity for the city's airport — especially agricultural products from the Yakima Valley.

Hodgman noted that Yakima and other Eastern Washington airports, including Grant County, can help relieve the logjam of cargo being shipped out of Sea-Tac.

"( Washington) is at risk of losing air cargo because of the limitations at Sea-Tac," he added. "That cargo's going to go somewhere else, like British Columbia or California."

Cantwell tours the airport

Following their discussion on the future of regional air travel, Hodgman, Baker, Cantwell and members of her staff walked through the Yakima Air Terminal, paying particular attention to the baggage claim area and baggage processing facilities.

Last week, Cantwell announced a $1 million grant from the FAA's Airport Terminal Program to replace the Yakima airport's sliding-door baggage chute with a new moving baggage carousel.

Hodgman showed Cantwell the current cramped area where passenger baggage and cargo must be screened, and shared plans for a larger, modern screening area that would increase efficiency and accommodate both air passenger and air cargo growth.

He said planning and possible improvements to the baggage claim and screening facilities could start next year.

Contact Joel Donofrio at [email protected].

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