Bellingham International Airport will close for 30 days in the summer of 2027 as construction crews repair many parts of the airport, primarily the single runway. The Port of Bellingham issued the closures set to be from July 20 through August 19, 2027.
The $25 million Runway Rehabilitation Project will additionally repair three taxiways and install blast pads, which combat pavement degradation. The Federal Aviation Administration will fund 90 to 95% of the project, according to the Port of Bellingham.
Mike Hogan, public affairs administrator for the Port of Bellingham, noted that two factors went into deciding dates: working with the Federal Aviation Administration's window for funding and minimizing the impacts of the airport shutdown on travelers.
Bri Dickley, a 25-year-old Western Washington University mechanical engineering student, has been a frequent flyer through Bellingham International alongside her parents, who fly in to visit regularly. Dickley said that this closure will be a large disruption, as other options, such as the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, aren't as easy and convenient as Bellingham International.
“It’s especially brutal to drive all the way to Sea-Tac and back just to pick someone up. For when my parents visit, that would be 8 hours in the car there and back,” she said. “Not to mention the increased cost of gas.”
Regional airlines may take a hit during the summer with the closures as well. San Juan Airlines is one of three airlines operating out of Bellingham International, alongside Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air.
San Juan Airlines offers scheduled flights to five locations in the San Juan Islands, tour flights and charters around the Puget Sound area and Canada.
Jason Douglas, owner and CEO of San Juan Airlines, noted that on top of other services, they often transport many specialists to the San Juans, including medical specialists, HVAC technicians and construction workers.
“There’s a lot of essential services that we take from Bellingham to the islands and that will be adversely affected if we’re not able to run out of the Bellingham office,” Douglas said. “To what degree is yet to be seen.”
San Juan Airlines, in the worst-case scenario, may have to operate out of a different airport, such as Skagit Regional Airport, Douglas said. Skagit Regional Airport is much smaller, servicing only private flights and is roughly a 35-minute drive from Bellingham International.
Teo Garofalo, a 20-year-old aviation pilot major at Central Washington University who earned his private pilot certificate through Bellingham International last summer, said he enjoyed flying out of Bellingham International but the closures during the summer would have greatly affected him.
“I was back in Bellingham for a couple months in the summer and I was on a deadline,” he said. “It would have screwed me completely over, honestly, and I probably wouldn't have been able to go (to CWU).”
CWU is the primary four-year state institution in Washington that offers Bachelor’s programs in both professional piloting and aviation management. Many students utilize Bellingham International Airport to get hours for pilot certifications.
“As a general aviation pilot, I’m all in support of the temporary closures,” Kiran Versaw, an aviation student at CWU, said. “There’s definitely going to be some disappointment with a few people, but at the end of it all, a 30-day airport closure to improve airport safety is a good thing.”
Versaw noted that due to the early release of information, many travelers will have more than enough time to accommodate the closure.
“We will be providing regular community updates to let folks know how the project is going and when we’re working hard to get the airport reopened as soon as possible,” Hogan said.
River Martinez (he/him) is a city news reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a first-year visual journalism and political science major. River spends his time doing model United Nations, climbing and tinkering on his film camera. You can reach him at marti722@wwu.edu.
