Mayor says jets can’t land at night, but city website says Renton Airport is open 24/7

An airplane lands at Renton at 10:15 tonight

I was surprised to see the Mayor issue a statement tonight defending the Airport Director’s actions at the airport.  In my blog entries on the topic, I had not mentioned the Mayor, but his statement shows that a lack of knowledge of aviation goes all the way up to the Mayor’s office.

I immediately spotted many errors in the Mayor’s statement, and I don’t have time to respond to all of them right now.  I will point out a very obvious one for starters.

The Mayor’s statement includes this question and answer:

2. Will Renton Municipal Airport be opened up to 24/7 jet traffic?

No, any business operations will be subject to the air traffic control tower operation hours – from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM in winter; and 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM during summer.

But Renton residents under the flight path need to merely look up at night to see that our airport is open 24/7.  When the tower is closed, pilots self-report their arrivals and departures.

Residents can confirm the airport’s hours on the City of Renton’s own website. Our airport is a 24/7 operation.  Note paragraph 3 below says pilots can not be directed when or where to fly. Here is an excerpt.

Excerpt from Renton Website

After working for 33 years in aviation, with 28 years on City Council, I feel like this is a lop-sided debate.

Tomorrow I plan to address problems with the Mayor’s statement regarding the jet center, the RAAC, the lease policies,  the current eviction, and the statement that the old control tower was scheduled for demolition in 2015.

The full Mayor’s statement can be found here.