I. INVESTING IN OUR AIRPORT
As the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) begins to
roll out, SEA is preparing to invest $4 billion in our facilities in
the next few years. To take advantage of this opportunity, we
seek to:
a. Leverage Dedicated IIJA Airport Dollars: We will
work closely with federal partners to invest both
formula funds and competitive grant dollars in key SEA
projects.
b. Compete for IIJA Sustainable Transportation
Funding: We will work closely with federal partners to
take advantage of dollars to incentivize the transition
to greener forms of surface transportation to and from
the airport, including electric vehicle infrastructure
funding at or near the airport as well as high-speed
rail and transit infrastructure that can increase the
availability and attractiveness of low-carbon travel
options for airport passengers and employees.
c. Increase Self-Funding Flexibility: Once IIJA dollars
are spent, we will need a modernized Passenger
Facility Charge user fee for long-term sustainable
funding needs.
d. Build Federal Support: We will work closely with
federal agencies and members of Congress to
ensure their support for in-progress and future
capital projects, including the Sustainable Airport
Master Plan near-term projects currently under
environmental review.
II. ADDRESSING COMMUNITY IMPACT
As air travel rebounds, we are focused on increased
sustainability and addressing impacts on our surrounding
communities. Federal legislation and regulation can help us:
a. Fight Climate Change: We support comprehensive
proposals for sector-specic and economy-wide
solutions to address the climate crisis with legislation
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other
harmful toxic pollutants while providing exibility
to respond to changing market conditions and
technological advances.
b. Implement Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF): We
will engage federal partners to help us take next
steps toward widespread use of SAF at our airport. In
particular, we will seek additional federal funding for
SAF research, SAF infrastructure, and tax credits for
blending of these fuels. We will work to leverage the
U.S. Departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy and
Transportation as key partners in this eort.
c. Address Airplane Noise and Air Quality: We will
advocate for the shared federal agenda developed by
the airport and its six surrounding cities – including
changes to federal funding, policies, regulations and
programs such as studying aviation-related ultrane
particulates and allowing for secondary noise mitigation
investments in certain previously insulated homes.
We will work to better understand potential indoor air
quality investment benets near airports as well.
AIR TRAVEL RECOVERY FROM PANDEMIC IMPACTS
www.flySEA.org
2022 AVIATION FEDERAL PRIORITIES
As the region and the world continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is
committed to providing a safe and healthy travel experience and to serving as a key contributor to regional and statewide
economic recovery. We are focused on developing more modern, high-tech facilities that will speed travelers on their way; better
connecting the Puget Sound region to the world; maximizing the environmental sustainability of our operations; and ensuring
that our local communities and residents thrive. The federal government can help us achieve this vision by:
Total Passengers (+80%)
• 2021: 36,153,839
• 2020: 20,061,507
Domestic Passengers (+85%)
• 2021: 34,484,666
• 2020: 18,690,119
Int’l Passengers (+23%)
• 2021: 1,669,173
• 2020: 1,371,388
Total Air Cargo in (+10%)
• 2021: 498,741
• 2020: 454,584
Agenda Item 11a
_attach1
Meeting Date: January 10, 2023
P.O. Box 1209
Seattle, WA 98111
(206) 787-3000
www.portseattle.org
02/2022
II. ADDRESSING COMMUNITY IMPACT (cont.)
d. Protect Passenger, Employee and Community
Safety: We will partner with federal agencies
to improve human tracking prevention and
intervention eorts. In addition, we will engage
with FAA leadership to speed the transition to non-
uorinated aireld re-ghting foams.
e. Increase Economic and Workforce Development:
We will engage actively in supporting policies and
programs that boost economic, workforce and tourism
development, and augment existing Port eorts to
support small and minority-owned businesses. We
support realigning federal funding, programs and
policies to support rebuilding the U.S. small business
sector, reviving entrepreneurship, and closing the
racial wealth gap.
f. Address Racial Equity: We will advocate for
comprehensive federal policing reforms that further
the goals of the Port Commission’s Task Force on
Policing and Civil Rights. In addition, we support federal
legislation on biometric technology that ensures
protections for privacy, equity and civil liberties.
III. CONNECTING US TO THE WORLD
SEA is an international gateway, and the success of our
airport depends being able to reopen international travel in
a safe, healthy manner while presenting a welcoming face to
the international visitors, immigrants and refugees who travel
through or work at our facility, particularly related to the
arrival and resettlement of Afghan refugees. To achieve these
goals, we seek to:
a. Welcome International Travelers and Residents: We
will be a leading voice on comprehensive immigration
policies that ensure the Port, its partner and its
customers have the workforce to succeed in the global
economy, and that immigrants and refugees are fully
welcomed into the opportunities that our region’s
economy provides.
b. Lower Trade Barriers: We support policies that
level playing elds for international commerce while
protecting workers and the environment. In addition,
we believe that taris should be a measure of last
resort and – when necessary – carefully and narrowly
targeted to minimize impacts on American producers
and consumers.
c. Facilitate International Air Travel: We support global
agreements that set clear health and safety standards
and protocols to facilitate the recovery of international
travel and trade. In addition, we will coordinate with
CBP leadership to ensure operational readiness and
stang for the opening of our new International
Arrivals Facility.
IV. ACCOMMODATING THE RETURN TO TRAVEL
As the pandemic subsides, SEA is working to accommodate
the return of passengers in the most ecient and safe
manner possible. In particular, we seek to:
a. Adjust to Changing Travel Protocols: We will monitor
changes to current national guidance regarding
protocols to protect the health of passengers and
employees while simultaneously restoring traveler
condence in a return to air travel.
b. Partner with Federal Agencies: We will work with U.S.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S.
Customs & Border Protection (CBP) leadership on the
safe and healthy return of air travel passenger levels,
through proper stang, necessary federal funding to
supplement lost user fees, appropriate health protocols
and the deployment of touchless technology solutions.
c. Support Key Funding Needs: We will monitor
additional discussions regarding supplemental federal
relief for businesses impacted by the pandemic; in
particular, we support additional federal support for
the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) to assist local
restaurants – including those at SEA – impacted by
reduced dining and travel because of the Omicron
variant. In addition, we will ght to preserve TSA
funding for Law Enforcement Ocer reimbursement
grants and reimbursements for checkpoint-area
janitorial services.
d. Increase the Eciency and Safety of our Airport
and Airspace: We will engage with national
airport associations, the FAA, the Washington
Congressional delegation and other key stakeholders
to limit operational disruptions caused by the
implementation of 5G wireless telecommunications
near airports. In addition, we support airport industry
recommendations to improve the integration,
detection, identication, and mitigation of Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS) in and around airports. Similarly,
we encourage a consistent and predictable federal
approach to urban air mobility (UAM) deployment.
Finally, we encourage expedited deployment of the
FAA’s Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) aireld
congestion management program at SEA in order to
improve ow and eciency on the aireld.
For more information on the Port of Seattle’s
federal legislative agenda, contact:
Eric Schinfeld, Port of Seattle
Senior Manager Federal & Int’l Gov’t Relations
(206) 787-5031 |
Schinfeld.E@portseattle.org
