Paine Field was originally constructed in 1936 as a
Works Progress Administration project. At the time of development, it was envisioned that the Airport would create jobs and economic growth in the region by becoming one of the ten new "super airports" around the country. Paine Field was taken over by the
U.S. Army Air Corps prior to entry into World War II as a patrol, air defense, and fighter training base and was later controlled by the
U.S. Army Air Forces. With the end of the war, the airfield began to be returned to the civilian control of
Snohomish County. In 1947, as transition activities were still underway, military control of the then-Paine Army Airfield was transferred to the newly established
U.S. Air Force, with the facility renamed
Paine Field. Transfer of the property to the Snohomish County government was completed in 1948, however, the Air Force continued to maintain various
Air Defense Command units at the airport as military tenants. Before Snohomish County could start planning for the continued development of a "super airport", the United States was again involved in an armed conflict—this time in
Korea and also the breakout of the
Cold War with the
Soviet Union. When the Pacific Northwest defense installations were reviewed House Representative
Henry M. Jackson recommended more military presence in the area and Paine Field was reactivated as a military airbase. s overflying the airfield. Paine Field was returned to
USAF control in 1951, renamed Paine Air Force Base, and placed under the jurisdiction of the
Air Defense Command (ADC). While the county relinquished most of its commercial facilities to house USAF personnel, units, and assets, the site did not have an exclusive military presence. The airfield remained a joint civil-military airport with the Air Force operating the control tower and other air traffic control facilities, while the county, in a shared-use agreement, rented commercial leasehold areas to businesses such as
Alaska Airlines. The 4753rd Air Base Squadron (later re-designated the 86th Air Base Squadron) was activated on the new Air Force base on February 1, 1952, as a placeholder unit. Although inactive for only six years, significant military construction (MILCON) was necessary to bring the World War II training base up to postwar USAF standards. In 1951, additional land surrounding the Paine AFB site was appropriated for military facilities and extended runways. A 9,000-foot jet runway (Rwy 16/34) was constructed along with accompanying taxiways, permanent concrete buildings, and other support facilities to replace the temporary wartime wooden structures that were viewed as substandard for a permanent USAF base. The
529th Air Defense Group was activated on February 16, 1953, and became the permanent host unit at Paine AFB until redesigned as the
326th Fighter Group in 1955. A-75-CO Delta Dagger 56-1344, 326th Fighter Group, March 1960 Various regular Air Force fighter-interceptor units and
Air Force Reserve troop carrier units operated at Paine AFB from 1951 until the mid-1960s. In 1966, USAF identified Paine AFB for closure due to budgetary constraints caused by the cost of the
Vietnam War. The by then-host unit, the
57th Fighter Group phased down operations with the departure of the interceptors and was inactivated in place on September 30, 1968. Paine AFB has inactivated on the same date and the facility was returned to full civilian control as
Paine Field / Snohomish County Airport. The (215 EIS) of the
Washington Air National Guard, formerly situated at Paine Field, was inactivated in 2013. Paine AFB / Paine Field had also been under consideration in the 1960s by
Army Air Defense Command as one of several sites for the
Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile System due to its central location to several other major military bases and defense industries in the Puget Sound Region. Sentinel was eventually dropped in favor of the limited
Safeguard system. On July 25, 1966,
Boeing announced that it would build the
Boeing 747, a
jet airliner capable of carrying nearly twice as many passengers as previous models. To build the giant aircraft, Boeing had to construct a facility large enough to handle the world's largest commercial jetliner. The land just north of Paine Field was chosen to construct the new facilities, including some development on the airport itself. Both the local government and the FAA concurred with the development. Work on the massive building began in August 1966 and the first employees arrived in early 1967. The 747 made its first flight at Paine Field on February 9, 1969. In 1984, the
Snohomish County Council considered legislation to rename Paine Field for Senator
Henry M. Jackson, who had died a few months earlier. The proposal was put on hold after the
Port of Seattle renamed
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport for Jackson, which sparked public outcry and force them to revert to the original name. In late 2005, construction of the
Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour building was completed. The project, formerly known as the National Flight Interpretive Center, includes the Boeing factory tour as well as a gallery that highlights the newest developments in aviation, including both parts and components of airplanes, manufactured by
Airbus and
Boeing. The facility was opened to a private audience on December 16, 2005, and the following day the facility was open to the public. The
Museum of Flight also has a restoration center at the airport's main gate; located further south is the
Me 262 Project.
Paul Allen's
Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum has a large, refurbished hangar at the south end of the field, which opened as a museum in June 2008. The
Historic Flight Foundation also housed and maintained early military aircraft. However, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum closed in May 2020 as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic and in April 2022 it was reported that the collection was sold and the museum would not re-open. The Historic Flight Foundation closed their museum at Paine Field in 2020 as well, with their museum at
Felts Field in
Spokane, Washington now being their only location.
Commercial service proposals and debate The use of Paine Field for commercial air service is highly controversial. Several local governments have adopted resolutions against the use of Paine Field for commercial flights including Snohomish County (the airport's operator), the neighboring cities of
Brier,
Edmonds,
Lynnwood,
Mountlake Terrace,
Mukilteo, and
Woodway. Additionally, a local citizens group called "Save Our Communities" has worked to oppose any commercial flights at the airport. Notably, the city of Everett, the largest in the county and the county seat, has adopted a resolution in favor of the use of Paine Field for commercial air service. The use and expansion of the airport is currently governed by an agreement that was forged during 1978–1979 negotiations, called the Mediated Role Determination (MRD). The MRD recommends the role of Paine Field to be as a general aviation and aerospace manufacturing airport, while discouraging other types of activities including supplemental/charter air passenger service. In 2005,
Snohomish County commissioned a panel to review the MRD. That panel recommended that the MRD "should not be ratified or revised, but should be retired as a policy document". In June 2008, the Snohomish County Council rejected the findings of its panel, and as in 1989, 1992, and 2001, restated its opposition to commercial air passenger services operating from Paine Field with this resolution: Reaffirm our county's commitment to preserving the existing general aviation role of Paine Field, and [to] pursue any and all lawful and appropriate means to discourage any action that would facilitate, directly or indirectly, use of Paine Field for scheduled air passenger service or air cargo service, which may include an interlocal agreement. Further reflecting its opposition to commercial air service, Snohomish County has adopted a policy of not spending funds to subsidize airlines or to pay for the infrastructure needed to support commercial air service. In 2008, two airlines,
Allegiant Air and
Horizon Air, expressed interest in establishing passenger flights to Paine Field to the airport authority. In May 2008, in response to these requests, the Chairman of the Snohomish County Council sent Allegiant Air a letter stating their opposition to the request to start air service. The FAA wrote to the airport authority in June 2008 to reiterate that as a recipient of federal FAA grants, the County may not prohibit commercial aeronautical activities offering services to the public. If the County blocked commercial flights, it would risk an enforcement action under
Federal Aviation Regulation 16. The airport completed a draft environmental assessment of the effects of commercial aviation at Paine Field in December 2009, and the public comment period ended on February 5, 2010. Opposition to Paine Field hosting commercial air service was overwhelming in meetings held for comments on the draft environmental assessment. The neighboring city of Mukilteo hired an aviation attorney to represent the interests of the city during the environmental assessment process and promised to "make it time consuming, expensive and stretch it out. We'll fight the terminal legally." On December 4, 2012, the FAA concluded that commercial airplanes could fly out of Paine Field without significantly adding to local noise and traffic. The findings cleared the way for commercial operations along with the construction of a terminal building. On February 5, 2013, the cities of Edmonds and Mukilteo, along with two individuals, filed notice with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that they intend to challenge the results of the Environmental Assessment. On July 15, 2013, Allegiant Air refused the county's terms to operate a terminal at Paine.
Commercial service resumes In June 2014, New York-based Propeller Investments asked Snohomish County to start discussions leading to their construction of a terminal and parking facility at Paine Field. Propeller Investments would shoulder the risk — leasing land from the airport, financing terminal construction, and finding tenant airlines. On March 2, 2015, Snohomish County approved a lease-option agreement that gave Propeller Airports three years to carry out preliminary design work, environmental studies and to obtain permits needed to construct a proposed two-gate passenger terminal. In turn, Snohomish County would receive about $429,000 per year in rent plus a share of flight and parking revenues. The ground was broken for the passenger terminal on June 5, 2017. The 30,000 square foot building will have two gates and will be capable of handling about 16 flights per day. The operator, Propeller Airports, has agreed to limit early-morning and late-night commercial flights to reduce noise impacts on Mukilteo and nearby residential areas. Alaska Airlines was the first to announce in May 2017 that it would operate from Paine Field. The airline initially announced that it would fly nine daily flights with a mix of
mainline and
regional jets. In January 2018, Alaska announced that instead all flights from Everett would be operated by its regional subsidiary,
Horizon Air using the
Embraer 175 regional jet, but that it would be offering 13 flights each day. In November 2018, the number of daily departures was again increased to 18. Alaska plans daily flights to several west coast destinations:
Las Vegas,
Los Angeles,
Orange County,
Phoenix,
Portland,
San Diego,
San Francisco, and
San Jose. United Airlines announced on August 10, 2017, that six flights a day will be operated to its hubs in
Denver and San Francisco.
Southwest Airlines announced on January 25, 2018, their intention to serve the airport with five daily flights, three to
Oakland and two to
Las Vegas. However, on November 15, 2018, Southwest reversed that decision and transferred its slots to Alaska Airlines. Between Alaska and United, the initial commercial flight schedule for the airport included 24 daily departures, which was 50 percent higher than airport managers had initially planned for. The environmental review was completed in September 2018, and no significant additional environmental impacts were found, clearing the way for commercial service to start in early 2019. Alaska previously announced that it planned to inaugurate service on February 11 with a ceremonial flight to
Las Vegas, before ramping up to a full schedule of 18 departures on March 12, 2019. Alaska added that the gradual ramp-up would allow the airline and its employees to ensure operations at the new airport terminal were running smoothly. The first Alaska Airlines flight from Paine Field, carrying invited guests to Portland, departed at 10 a.m. on March 4, 2019; it was then followed by public flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix. United began service to Denver and San Francisco on March 31, 2019. The San Francisco flights ceased in March 2020, after the airline found insufficient demand. Within a year of opening, the commercial terminal served more than one million passengers. Long-term plans for the terminal include free
luggage carts, a
cellphone lot, and a consolidated
rental car center. The airport's operators have also stated their desire to see larger planes, including
Boeing 737s, serve the terminal and routes to destinations like
Hawaii. The commencement of commercial service brought new noise complaints from nearby residents, including 10 households who submitted 62 percent of the 3,656 complaints filed in December 2019.
San Juan Airlines announced plans in April 2019 to begin scheduled service from the separate Castle and Cooke Aviation building at Paine Field, in addition to its current charter offerings. Two daily flights to
Friday Harbor Airport on
San Juan Island began on May 1, using small Cessna airplanes. The number of flights at Paine Field was reduced to a single daily round-trip operated by Alaska Airlines in May 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The airport announced that it would close for 71 days to complete repairs to the gate ramps and other maintenance while traffic and demand were reduced. The terminal reopened on August 1 with three daily flights: Las Vegas and Phoenix on Alaska Airlines; and Denver on United Airlines. In July 2021, United announced that they would be ending service to Paine Field in October of that year, opting instead to consolidate their resources at
Sea-Tac. Alaska, left as the sole airline at the airport, had announced plans to add more service in response to demand. They deployed their mainline
Boeing 737 service to Paine Field in February 2022 to supplement their existing
E-175 service from regional operator
Horizon Air. In June 2022, Alaska resumed their full pre-pandemic schedule of 18 daily departures to 9 destinations—all in the Western United States. The county government renamed the airport to Seattle Paine Field International Airport on July 18, 2023. The new name is meant to advertise the airport's proximity to Seattle. The Washington Air National Guard plans to transfer at Paine Field to the Snohomish County government for industrial use and to expand an existing access road.
Frontier Airlines, a low-cost carrier, made their debut at Paine Field in June 2025 with flights to
Denver, Las Vegas, and Phoenix on a thrice-weekly schedule. They reduced service to once-weekly in early December and left the market entirely on January 5, 2026. ==Passenger terminal==