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Local GA Update
Spokane International Airport passenger traffic gaining in altitude Spokane International Airport celebrated a historic first in 2019 as over 4 million passengers traveled through the airport during the year, a 2.8% increase over 2018. It’s the third consecutive year of record-breaking passenger traffic at the airport. Part of the increase is due to two new flights that launched last year. In June, Southwest Airlines commenced daily nonstop service to San Diego, and Alaska Airlines launched daily nonstop service to Everett’s Paine Field in November. Also, in December the Historic Flight Foundation opened a new facility at Felts Field. This living museum allows aviation enthusiasts to get up close to vintage aircraft that has been fully restored to flying condition.
In 2020 the airport anticipates another great year, boosted by the number of new flight options for passengers that increases the airport’s total number of nonstop destinations to 19. Alaska Airlines commenced twice-daily nonstop service to Los Angeles in January and announced twice-daily flights to San Francisco starting in March; United Airlines will launch seasonal summer daily nonstop service to Houston in June; and Delta Airlines will begin daily nonstop service to Atlanta in July. In addition, a SpringHill Suites by Marriott is expected to open in February. The hotel, which will become the third hotel property at the airport, is located directly across Airport Drive from the terminal building and will have over 100 rooms available to guests.
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Tacoma City Council passes closed captioning ordinance All public establishments with televisions will be required to turn on closed captioning effective March 1, under a new ordinance passed by the Tacoma City Council. “We don’t often consider how individuals who are deaf or have a hearing impairment experience the world,” said Tacoma City Council Member Keith Blocker. “This ordinance will help make Tacoma more accessible and welcoming to all residents in our community.”
The ordinance is intended to align with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by creating an enforcement process. Once in effect, the new ordinance could result in fines of up to $500 a day.
Tacoma becomes the second major city in less than a year to pass such an ordinance. Seattle passed a similar ordinance last spring requiring TVs in public places to turn on closed captioning during operating hours. The Tacoma ordinance includes restaurants, hotels, bars, sports stadiums, retail establishments and other places of public accommodation. The only exceptions to the Tacoma requirements are if the TV is not capable of showing closed captioning, or if there is no TV in the public space.
The city of Tacoma estimates that, based on national averages of people who are hard of hearing, more than 200,000 overnight visitors to the Tacoma region experience some form of hearing disability each year.
“We want Tacoma to be an inclusive city where all people can participate and contribute to our community,” Mayor Victoria Woodards said. “This ordinance makes the social connections and information provided in community gathering spaces more accessible to our friends and family who are hard of hearing or deaf and there is also the potential for business to crease their revenues as more people feel welcomed.”
Seattle Hotel Association launches sustainable shower initiative In an effort to start a new decade with a similar commitment and action toward sustainable practices, the Seattle Hotel Association has announced a goal to replace single-use shampoo, conditioner and shower gel containers with largerformat dispensers in hotel guest room showers. Seattle Hotel Association represents 80 member hotels comprising more than 16,000 guestrooms and millions of guests annually.
About a quarter of member hotels have already made the move to bulk dispensers of shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel, with most properties anticipating a full conversation by the end of 2021.
The commitment comes as hotels continue to take innovative steps to create environmentally friendly hotels and guest rooms both locally and nationally. Many Seattle hotels have already made proactive efforts to phase out single-use plastic containers in guest room showers. The association estimates this new initiative could keep hundreds of thousands of single-use plastic containers out of landfills.
