Bellingham International Airport
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Bellingham International Airport (Bellingham/Tulip Army Airfield) |
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Port of Bellingham | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bellingham, Washington | ||||||||||
| Location | Whatcom County and Vancouver, British Columbia | ||||||||||
| Hub for | San Juan Airlines | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | Allegiant Air | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 170 ft / 51.8 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 48°47′33″N 122°32′15″W / 48.79250°N 122.53750°WCoordinates: 48°47′33″N 122°32′15″W / 48.79250°N 122.53750°W | ||||||||||
| Website | http://www.portofbellingham.com/ | ||||||||||
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 BLI
BLI
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Sources:
WSDOT |
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| Aircraft movements | 62,783 |
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| Number of Passengers (total) | 1,140,000 |
Bellingham International Airport (IATA: BLI, ICAO: KBLI, FAA LID: BLI) is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, and the third-largest commercial airport 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, should have been completed in phases beginning in 2012 and with completion expected by 2015.
In 1936 Whatcom County obtained 200 acres (0.81 km2) 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.
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Wikipedia