Paine Field to suspend service until August

EVERETT, Wash. — Officials with Paine Field announced Friday that all airline service will be suspended until Aug 1, with the last commercial flight to depart May 21.

According to a release, service is being suspended for aircraft ramp maintenance and repairs.

Airport officials said a drop in passenger numbers locally and across the U.S. allows them to take advantage of the opportunity to complete essential safety work.

The projects were originally scheduled for completion in a phased-in approach, but now the upgrades will be completed all at once, avoiding any passenger inconvenience, airport officials said.

“The travel industry has never faced an economic challenge of this magnitude,” said Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports. The company designed, built and financed the terminal through a public-private partnership with Snohomish County. “We are going to use this temporary disruption to the advantage of Paine Field and our airline partners by completing necessary infrastructure improvements faster than we would have been able to while the terminal was open and flight operations were taking place.”

The work has been coordinated with Alaska Airlines and United Airlines and has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Although service at the airport has decreased to five daily departures, it expects to resume its 24 daily departures in August.

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