|
Bellingham International Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, and the third-largest commercial airport in Washington.〔List of airports in Washington〕 Due to the airport's close proximity to British Columbia, Canada, it is a low fare alternative airport to the Vancouver International Airport. On the Allegiant website the airport is referred to as Bellingham/Vancouver. The newly constructed gate area has five gates, a coffee shop and a restaurant with a bar. The second phase of the terminal expansion will add a baggage carousel in addition to larger ticketing and pre-security areas for passengers, scheduled to be completed in phases beginning in 2012 and with completion expected by 2015. ==History== In 1936 Whatcom County obtained 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 were safe enough for their DC-3s, 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 United States Army Air Forces]] 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. With the rising costs and need for repairs, Whatcom county sold the Airport to the Port of Bellingham for one dollar in 1957. Because of costs, the Port of Bellingham could only resurface the longest of the runways (16/34).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Port History )〕 16/34 is still the only runway used as it provides adequate year-round wind coverage for aircraft servicing Bellingham. The two diagonal runways have fallen into disrepair, their easternmost ends used as taxiways between tarmacs and the sole remaining runway. In 1985 Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) brought Bellingham's first passenger jets, McDonnell Douglas MD-80s direct to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, via Seattle/Tacoma. PSA was acquired by American Airlines which continued to serve Bellingham with Boeing 737-300s. Alaska Airlines introduced MD-80 jets in the late 1980s, competing with American Airlines as both airlines had nonstop jets to Seattle/Tacoma and beyond. In the 1990s homes were purchased to extend the runway in an effort to attract air carriers. The assumption is that there would not be a third runway at Sea-Tac airport. The airport has seen a high turnover rate. In September 2010 the airport completed a $26 million resurfacing of the runway to allow aircraft up to the size of Boeing 757s. This project was completed to serve Allegiant Airlines Boeing 757s. The airport is expanding the terminal building from . The first phase is complete with a new gate area completed and temporary portable waiting areas removed. The second phase is to start in 2012 and reach completion by 2015 and will expand the pre-security areas of the airport including the addition of a baggage carousel for arriving passengers. The cost of the expansion to the terminal building is covered by surcharges from passengers and parking fees. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bellingham International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|