Utilisateur:Nuggie Nug/Brouillon
L'aéroport fut construit en 1944 par le port de Seattle, à la suite de la prise de contrôle de l'aéroport Boeing lors de la seconde guerre mondiale. Le port a reçu un million de dollars de la Federal Aviation Administration et cent-mille dollars de la ville de Tacoma pour reconstruire l'aéroport. Les premiers vols étéopérés par la Northwest et Trans-Canada en 1947; Les compagnies Western et United se déplacèrent depuis l'aéroport Boeing deux années plus tard, suivi par la Pan Am en 1952-53. West Coast Airlines et ses successeurs Air West et Hughes Air West n'arrivèrent que bien plus tard, en 1971.
En juin 1951, il y avaient quatre pistes d’atterrissages orientées à 45 degrés, d'une longueur comprises entre 1500 et 1900 mètres.
In June 1951 there were four runways at 45-degree angles, between 5,000 and 6,100 feet (1,500 and 1,900 m) long; the northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast runways intersected just west of the north-south runway that eventually became today's runway 34R. Runway 34 was lengthened to 7500 ft in 1951, to 8500 ft by 1958 and to 11900 ft by 1962. Runway 34L replaced runway 2 around 1970.
The April 1957 OAG shows 216 departures a week on United, 80 Northwest, 35 Western, 21 Trans-Canada, 20 Pan Am, 20 Pacific Northern and 10 Alaska. The first jet flights were Pan Am 707s to Honolulu via Portland (OR) in late 1959. In 1966 Scandinavian Airlines began the airport's first non-stop route to mainland Europe (Pan Am nonstops to London began around 1961). The first concourse opened in July 1959.
The two-story North Concourse (later dubbed Concourse D) added four gate positions and a new wing 600 feet (180 m) long and 30 feet (9.1 m) wide.[7] The one-story South Concourse (now Concourse A) opened in 1961, adding another 688 feet (210 m) to the length of the airport.[7] The 800-foot (240 m) long Concourse B opened in December 1964. It added eight gate positions, bringing the total to 19, a 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) area housing international arrivals and the offices of U.S. Customs, Immigration, Public Health and the Department of Agriculture.[7] Concourse C opened in July 1966.[7] Just four years later, it was extended to include another 10 gates, bringing the total to 35.[7] The Port embarked on a major expansion plan, designed by The Richardson Associates[8] and lasting from 1967 to 1973, adding a second runway, a parking garage, two satellite terminals and other improvements. In 1973, $28-million new terminal was built over and around the 1949 structure; the new terminal quadrupled the area for public use.[7] On July 1, 1973, the Airport opened two new satellite terminals, along with an underground train system to connect them to the Main Terminal.[9] In the mid-1980s, the Main Terminal was renovated and another 150 feet (46 m) was added to the north end.[7] Concourse D was expanded in 1987 with a rotunda that added four new gates.[7] In 1993, Concourses B, C and D were renovated. The project, designed by NBBJ, included the addition of 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) and the renovation of 170,000 square feet (16,000 m2) of space in Concourses B, C and D.[10] On June 15, 2004, the 2,102-foot (641 m) new Concourse A was unveiled with 14 new gates, a dozen new restaurants, new artwork and the airport's first moving sidewalks.[7]
Residents of the surrounding area filed lawsuits against the Port in the early 1970s, complaining of noise, vibration, smoke and other problems. The Port and the government of King County adopted the Sea-Tac Communities Plan in 1976 to address problems and guide future development. The Port spent more than $100 million over the next decade to buy homes and school buildings in the vicinity, and soundproof others nearby. In the mid-1980s, the airport participated in the airport noise-compatibility program initiated by Congress in 1979. Airport-noise contours were developed, real estate was purchased and some homes were retrofitted to achieve noise mitigation.[11]
In 1978 the U.S. ended airline regulation, and U.S. airlines were allowed to determine routes and fares without government approval. Deregulation resulted in new service to Seattle, including from TWA, then the fourth-largest U.S. airline, as well as Delta, National, and American.
After the death of U.S. Senator Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson in 1983, the Seattle Port Commission voted to change the name of the airport to Henry M. Jackson International Airport. Denizens of Tacoma interpreted the change as an insult to their community—the second time in the airport's history that the port authorities had attempted to remove "Tacoma" from the name. The $100,000 that Tacoma had provided for the airport's construction during World War II had come with an explicit promise that the city would be included in the airport's name. The controversy was resolved after polls of Seattle and Tacoma area residents indicated their preference for the original name by margins as much as 5:1. Helen Jackson, the widow of the late Senator Henry M. Jackson, expressed her desire that their family remain neutral in the debate. With a 3–2 vote of the Port of Seattle Commission, the name was reverted to Sea-Tac in early 1984.[12]
In the late 1980s the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that airport could reach capacity by 2000. The planning committee concluded in 1992 that the best solution was to add a third runway to the airport and construct a supplemental two-runway airport in one of the neighboring counties. Members of the community opposed a third runway, as did the Highline School District and the cities of Des Moines, Burien, Federal Way,Tukwila and Normandy Park, but a 1994 study concluded there were no feasible sites for an additional airport. The Port of Seattle approved a plan for the new runway in 1996, prompting a lawsuit from opponents. The Port secured the necessary permits by agreeing to noise reduction programs and environmental protections. Runway opponents appealed these permits, but dropped their challenges in 2004.
SeaTac terminals
The new 3rd runway opened on November 20, 2008, with a construction cost of $1.1 billion. Parallel to the existing two, the new runway is 2500 ft west of runway 34R, allowing landings on both in times of low visibility. The older runways are 800 ft apart, too close to allow use of both in low visibility.[13]