UPS is starting a $125 million capital improvement project this month (August) that by January 2022 will provide a new state-of-the-art package sorting facility at King County International Airport and rebuild several airport-owned aircraft parking gates. When the project is complete, UPS will be able to unload cargo from the aircraft and take it to their new sort facility to distribute the their network of delivery vehicles.

“It will be the first one of its kind outside of Louisville,” said Matt Sykora, Properties and Business Development Administrator. “It will improve efficiency for loading.”
UPS is building its project in stages, with the first phase scheduled for completion before the holiday cargo rush this year.

“This is about five years in the making,” said Raleigh Salazar, Airport Building and Trades Manager. “UPS had a vision to stay at the airport and they needed a new efficient process. We wanted to support that effort.”

In supporting one of its key tenants, KCIA is gaining the ability to build a new $22 million large airplane parking area.

“We couldn’t do the large airplane parking project without the UPS project,” Salazar said. “Now we are extremely constrained. We have to close taxiway Alpha (when large aircraft are present) and that creates challenges.”

Sykora explained that UPS and the airport are rearranging the parking gates to accommodate the new aircraft parking area. In addition, the Arrivals Building is set for demolition this winter.

“This will make way for four aircraft parking stalls,” Sykora said. “We could have four 767-400s or smaller, or one 747 in a single use application. This area will be used for cargo, sports team charters and other VIP flights.”

This brings numerous advantages when a 747 arrives at KCIA with the President, other dignitaries, or sport teams arrive.

“Large passenger aircraft will be directly adjacent to the terminal, eliminating the need for busing,” Salazar said. “They’ll be close to airport parking.”

“The overall vision is one contiguous ramp space for airport operations,” Salazar added. “We’re anticipating a more streamlined operation.”

The large aircraft parking project is funded 90 percent by the FAA, with the remainder from airport capital improvement funds. The project is the largest ramp investment in decades and is expected to have a lifetime of 40 to 50 years.

Project timeline

• Aug. – Oct. 2020 UPS rebuilds 3 aircraft cargo gates
• Nov. 2020 KCIA Arrivals Building demolition begins
• Jan. – Oct. 2021 UPS second phase of ramp construction
• Jan. – March 2021 KCIA Arrivals Building demolition

Construction impacts

• Perimeter Road is permanently closed.
• Traffic will be need to exit the airport and use Airport Way.
• The main terminal road will be re-aligned to connect with Othello.
• This will reduce parking at the main terminal but will allow for the increased size of the large aircraft parking ramp.

By Clint Herman, Sergeant, ARFF

Recently the KCIA Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) firefighters participated in a live fire training scenario at Big Bend College in Moses Lake. This type of training is required by the FAA for ARFF personnel to hone our skills in the event of an actual emergency.

Moses Lake is the closest and most realistic training prop available to us in the Pacific Northwest. A training prop is a steel mock-up of an airplane with fuel-ignited fires so we can practice putting them out. Here’s a video to give you a better idea of how we use a training prop.

We were joined by our partners from Paine Field Fire Department and the Pendleton Oregon Fire Department. Having multiple agencies train with us give us the chance to learn from them and improve our response to potential emergencies.

During this training we conducted different scenarios ranging from interior search and rescue in a zero-visibility environment to truck-mounted turret operations on real fuel-based fires. The fires are fueled by the same type we might see on an actual emergency and are mounted on a large-scale model of the types of aircraft we have at KCIA. We were also lucky enough to do hand line operations, using actual fire hose with a fire fighting nozzle instead of our truck-mounted water turrets to simulate fighting an engine or compartment fire. This allows us to get up close and personal with the airplane to fight smaller or hard to extinguish fires.

Last year ARFF purchased new breathing apparatus which included on-board thermal imaging technology. This allows us to pinpoint the location of trapped victims by observing body heat on the screen. With these training props we were able to become very proficient with this new technology. We look forward to returning next year for continued training.

According to an article in the Puget Sound Business Journal, Darigold has leased an existing building at Prologis' planned megaproject, Emerald Gateway, which is south of KCIA.

Having a facility next to the airport would help Darigold with its stated goal of substantially expanding global operations by establishing an overseas sales, service and distribution network.

In addition, Darigold's headquarters in the Georgetown neighborhood is four miles south of Emerald Gateway. Darigold moved its headquarters from the Rainier Valley three years ago.

The company is one of the largest dairy processors in the United States, handling around 10 billion pounds of milk annually. It's the marketing and processing subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association, which is owned by about 430 dairy farm families in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.