Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base

This article is about the seaplane base on Lake Union in Seattle. For the seaplane base on the northern end of Lake Washington in Kenmore (IATA: KEH, FAA LID: S60), see Kenmore Air Harbor.
Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base

Seattle Lake Union Seaplane Base
This picture shows the passenger loading area at the Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base in Seattle, USA. Three planes are at the dock while one plane is taxiing in the waters of Lake Union.
Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base loading area
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGreen Hornet Enterprises and Munro Banks Holdco[1]
ServesSeattle, Washington
LocationLake Union
Elevation AMSL14 ft / 4 m
Coordinates47°37′44″N 122°20′19″W / 47.62889°N 122.33861°W / 47.62889; -122.33861
Websitewww.KenmoreAir.com
Map
LKE is located in Washington (state)
LKE
LKE
LKE is located in the United States
LKE
LKE
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34 5,000 1,524 Water
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations35,500
Sources: FAA,[1] WSDOT[2]
Kenmore Air DHC-3 Otter on Lake Union

Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base, or Seattle Lake Union Seaplane Base,[1][2] (IATA: LKE, FAA LID: W55) is a seaplane base and international airport on Lake Union, Washington, U.S., 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) north of Downtown Seattle.[1]

Facilities and aircraft

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Kenmore Air Harbor Seaplane Base is 3 acres (1.2 ha) at an elevation of 14 feet (4.3 m) above mean sea level. It has one 5,000-by-500-foot (1,520 by 150 m) seaplane landing area designated runway 16/34, which runs from Gas Works Park to the north to Lake Union Park in the south.[1][2] A different seaplane base on the same lake, Seattle Seaplanes SPB (FAA LID: 0W0), is assigned runway 18/36 that instead goes diagonally through the lake.[3]

For the 12 months ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 43,500 aircraft operations, an average of 119 per day: 82% air taxi and 18% general aviation.[1]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Harbour Air Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre
Kenmore Air Victoria-Inner Harbour
Seasonal: Friday Harbor, Roche Harbor, Lopez Island, Deer Harbor, Eastsound-Rosario, West Sound, Nanaimo–Harbour, Quadra Island–April Point Resort, Bliss Landing, Refuge Cove, Cortes Island–Cortes Bay/Government Dock, Cortes Island–Gorge Harbour, Desolation Sound–Prideaux Haven, Princess Louisa Inlet–Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet–Malibu Club, Stuart Island–Nanook Lodge, Sonora Island, Dent Island–Dent Island Lodge, Fisherman's Landing, Mink Island, Toba Inlet, Garden Bay–Pender Harbour/Fisherman's Resort

History

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The first seaplane flight from Lake Union was by William E. Boeing, on June 15, 1916. The lake has been served by commercial flights from Kenmore Air since 1946. In 2018, buoys and lights were installed in the lake to warn boaters of landing planes.[4] Despite the warnings, recreational watergoers have continued to use the public lake, leading to cancelled flights.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f FAA Airport Form 5010 for W55 PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Kenmore Air Harbor SPB, City: Seattle (Lake Union), ID: W55 at Washington State DOT Airport Directory
  3. ^ "Airports - Seattle Seaplanes SPB". Washington State Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  4. ^ Clark, Kristen M. (April 27, 2018). "Growth's impact on Lake Union: More flights — and a seaplane runway". Crosscut. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  5. ^ Roberts, Paul (November 16, 2019). "Paddleboards vs. pilots: Kenmore Air, Lake Union neighbors clash over crowded waters". The Seattle Times.
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