FAA raises feasibility concerns over Lake Chelan Airport runway extension plan

Plans to realign and lengthen the runway at Lake Chelan Airport in Washington state are being revisited after the Federal Aviation Administration determined the earlier proposed configuration would not work operationally.

The Chelan City Council voted on August 11 to accept a $418,000 FAA grant to update the airport's master plan and layout plan, according to local reporting. The broader planning effort is expected to cost roughly $459,800, with additional funds coming from the Washington State Department of Transportation's Aviation Division, the city itself, and the Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority.

The airport's runway currently measures 3,503 feet. Earlier proposals called for shifting, rotating and extending it by about 897 feet, along with relocating taxiways, hangars and fuel infrastructure, altering a nearby road, and acquiring surrounding land and easements.

That plan stalled after the FAA carried out a more thorough review of the proposed alignment. City Administrator Laura McAloon said FAA staff ran flight simulations to assess how the new runway would perform, and those simulations flagged problems tied to the surrounding mountainous terrain and nearby structures.

The FAA has recommended that Chelan reassess projected aircraft needs at the airport and conduct further outreach with airport users, adjacent property owners and the public before proceeding further. The updated planning process will also re-examine the data used to determine the airport's critical aircraft, the aircraft type used to set design standards, and will revise the runway alignment, master plan, layout plan and property map to meet current FAA requirements.

The prior project had already reached the environmental review stage, with a draft environmental assessment underway before the reconsideration began.