To help manage limited capacity, visitors to KCIA will need to pay for parking at the Airport’s Main Terminal parking lot starting October 1.
“Parking rates at the airport will still be some of the cheapest in the region,” said John Parrott, airport director.
Drivers will enter and exit the parking lot through designated entrance and exit lanes. Travelers will be able to prepay at one of the two payment machines located outside the Airport Terminal building or via an app. The two machines will accept cash and credit card payments.
KCIA has contracted with Republic Parking System, which manages parking and ground transportation at more than 70 airports across the country and other lots in the Seattle area, to manage the parking facilities. The first 30 minutes of parking will remain free for folks visiting the airport badging office or the café.
Employee parking will be provided in the southeast corner of the main terminal lot. Employees will receive more details about logistics as the information becomes available.
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Time Period |
Rate |
First 30 minutes |
Free |
Per hour rate
Maximum of four hours
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$2 |
Hours 4-24
Maximum daily rate
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$15 |
Each additional
0-24 hours
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$15 |
Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport’s internship program continued this spring and summer, with a twist, thanks to an innovative new partnership between King County International Airport (KCIA) and the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS).
“We are very excited to keep the internship program running this summer despite the challenges,” said Mohamed Nimeri, Managing Engineer. “Thank you, Eric and Kevin, for leading this effort!”
Eric Miller and Kevin Nuechterlein, both capital project managers at KCIA, led the development of the new internship program. While many activities were shutting down this spring, the internship program was beginning, thanks to a connection Nuechterlein made in 2019.
“If our current work environment has taught me anything, it is that you have to adapt and think outside the box,” Nuechterlein said. “I was excited that while our traditional internship program was put on hold due to COVID-19, we were still able to provide meaningful internship opportunities for students here at the airport.”
“They (DCHS) have the students and the funding,” said Miller. “We have the work and we wanted to be able to provide that educational opportunity.”
Nuechterlein had initially met Ron De Guzman from DCHS while speaking at a Seattle Central Career Fair before the pandemic.
“This partnership came at the perfect time,” said De Guzman, a social services professional with DCHS/Children Youth and Young Adult. “I had students with an interest in aerospace. Everyone at the airport has been super helpful.”
“We were able to build on that relationship to eventually support three interns through two DCHS programs,” Nuechterlein said. “It really was a win-win and a great example of ‘King County as One Team.’”
The importance of personal connections and the small world of aerospace shine through in other aspects of the new internship program as well. Andrea Lopez, a career navigator with DCHS, helped develop the program alongside De Guzman and airport staff.
“My brother started at the airport in maintenance,” Lopez said. “Now my brother is the director at Livermore Airport in California. Mike Colmant, [KCIA deputy director] and my brother are good friends, so Mike was really excited about giving kids opportunities to expose them to careers.”
“While most organizations and companies had to cancel their internship programs, we were able to adapt and support some real rock-star interns!” Nuechterlein added.
Here are a few highlights.
Anisah Abdullah Abdullah, a student at Seattle Central College, has been interning at the airport since early March, before the “lockdown” started. Her work became virtual sometime in March. She is majoring in software development in college and said the internship has helped her a lot in deciding what she wants to do.
“Mohamed [Nimeri] really helped me explore what I wanted to do,” Abdullah said. “He set me up with interviews of people working in the field.”
She has also gained real-world experience, including developing a tool for the airport’s asset management program.
“Some components involve coding, that was my eye opener, that I really want to do coding,” Abdullah said.
“I’m really grateful to the engineering team, they’ve been awesome,” she added, wanting to thank Kevin Nuechterlein, Eric Miller, Mohamed Nimeri, and Sam Priest.
Abdullah plans to start an intensive computer science program at school this fall.
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Joseph “J.T.” Truss
Joseph “J.T.” Truss recently graduated from high school and has his sights set high.
“I chose this internship because I want to be a pilot,” J.T. Truss said. “I’ve been shadowing airport operations and it’s been really fun.”
Truss had initially planned to go to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ this fall. But with COVID-19 especially high in Arizona, J.T. Truss plans to focus on getting as many flight hours as he can toward his private pilot license.
“My dream is to become an airline pilot,” he said, undeterred by the state of COVID-19 and the economy. “I’m pretty sure the economy will bounce back in a couple years.”
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Myka Truss
If the last name sounds familiar, well, J.T. and Myka are siblings. Myka Truss, a junior at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, started her internship at the airport in August. She has been shadowing various employees at the airport, including Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF), Lorenzo Stubbs at the front desk, Alyssa Dean the duty officer, and more.
“We went on the runway and checked things out,” Myka Truss said of her time with Dean. With school starting up, she’ll be assigned to help the duty officer. “So far I’m going to be working with Alyssa on Saturdays.”
“This is my first job,” she said. “I’m definitely looking for some more work experience.”
“I’m into medicine right now but I’m also kind of interested in law,” Myka Truss said when asked about her future.
Helping prepare students for productive futures is part of the airport’s goal with the internship program.
“All the interns are doing a great job,” Miller said. “It’s brought exposure to us for a new resource and possibly for interns for the future.”
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Visitors to the airport with electric vehicles have a convenient place to charge their cars, thanks to recently installed charging stations in specially marked stalls. Thanks to KCIA electrician Shawn Smith who installed the four new stations and painter Jason Cunningham who painted the stalls. |
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King County International Airport supports the growth of the aviation industry by hosting several flight schools. These include Atomic Helicopters, Alternate Air, Helicopters Northwest, Inc., and Galvin Flying. We asked Galvin Flying to tell us a bit about themselves.
Courtesy of Galvin Flying
Founded in 1930 by Jim Galvin, Galvin Flying has a history on Boeing Field almost as long as the airport itself. At the heart of the business was Jim’s passion and love of flying. In the early days, Jim flew search-and-rescue missions, transported reporters, dropped forest fire fighter supplies, and operated the first air ambulance service in Washington. He believed offering pilot training was essential and Galvin Flying has offered flight instruction throughout its nearly 90-year history.
The Galvin name stayed in the family when Jim sold the business to his nephew, and long-time employee, Peter Galvin Anderson. Under Anderson’s direction, Galvin Flying expanded and became the largest general aviation leaseholder on Boeing Field.
As an aviation ambassador, Peter maintained relationships with several organizations throughout his career such as The Museum of Flight, King County International Airport Round Table Group, the Aviation 20 Group, and was a founding board member of Raisbeck Aviation High School. Although Peter has since passed on, Galvin Flying remains committed to that vision and continues to support programs aimed at encouraging young people to learn how to fly and become involved in the aviation field.
True to its roots, Galvin Flying continues to be a leader in flight instruction offering training for beginning pilots all the way up to Airline Transport Pilots. Galvin is proud to attract a full staff of professional instructors with an extensive range and depth of flying experience including current and former airline pilots, military aviators, and technical experts within the aviation industry. With a large, diverse, and ever-growing aircraft fleet the training opportunities are endless.
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ARFF fire fighters at King County International Airport knew it was time to update their logo. The old logos on their vehicles, based on the uniform patches, didn’t showcase their mission as firefighters.
“The patch was police-heavy. That’s not the story when we’re in the fire trucks. We’re EMTs, we’re airport rescue firefighters,” said Deputy Keith Bennett of ARFF, a division of the King County Sheriff’s Office. “Most fire departments have a logo that identifies their department and something that tells their story.”
Bennett designed a new logo for KCIA ARFF.
“I was trying to tell who we are, what we do, and with something recognizable by other departments,” Bennett said.
The new logo features three parts:
- the Maltese cross, representing the fire service
- the blue star of life and rod of Asclepius, symbolizing EMTs and medics, with the fire station number and
- an image recognizable as the airport, with a view of the iconic 14R runway and Mt. Rainier visible in the south.
The logos were added to airport fire trucks last month.
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Director John Parrott presented several airport employees with awards for their years of service at the virtual all staff meeting on Aug. 19. Congratulations to all!
- 30 years: Mark Hella, Marie Alvarado
- 25 years: Raleigh Salazar
- 20 years: Pam Kuehl, Michael Colmant, George Pierce, Heng Tan
- 10 years: Anthony Spelts
- 5 years: Max Staples, Shawn Smith, Richard Buchanan
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