Yakima Air Terminal

Airport in Washington, United States

McAllister Field (known for the Yakima Air Terminal) is a public airport three miles south of Yakima, in Yakima County, Washington. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 36,383 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2022, 57,076 in 2014, 60,028 in 2009 and 53,832 in 2010.

The airfield first officially operated in 1926 (Goodman’s pasture had been in use unofficially before 1928) in a 80 acres field cleared from sagebrush and runway added in 1932. During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces.

Northwest Airlines was serving the airport in 1939 with a daily roundtrip Portland, OR Yakima Spokane flight operated with a Douglas DC 3. By the early and mid 1960s, Northwest was operating daily, no change of plane Lockheed L 188 Electra propjet service from Yakima to the U. S. east coast via a number of intermediate stops as well as nonstop Electra service to Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Portland (PDX) and Spokane (GEG). In early 1962, Northwest was operating a daily eastbound Seattle Yakima Spokane Great Falls, MT Billings, MT Bismarck, ND Minneapolis/St. Paul Milwaukee Detroit New York City (via Newark Airport) flight with an Electra. By the spring of 1968, West Coast was operating Douglas DC 9 10 jet service nonstop from the airport to Seattle Boeing Field, Portland and Pasco as well as direct, no change of plane DC 9 jet flights to San Francisco (SFO), Spokane, Eugene and Medford in addition to flying Fairchild F 27 turboprop service to a number of regional destinations. West Coast Airlines then merged with Bonanza Air Lines and Pacific Air Lines to form Air West which was subsequently renamed Hughes Airwest. In the summer of 1968, Air West was operating Douglas DC 9 10 and McDonnell Douglas DC 9 30 jet service from the airport nonstop to Portland, OR and Pasco as well as direct DC 9 service to San Francisco (SFO), Spokane, Eugene, Medford, San Jose, CA, Fresno and Las Vegas in addition to nonstop Fairchild F 27 turboprop flights to Seattle Boeing Field (BFI) with nonstop and direct F 27 service to other regional destinations. In 1975, Hughes Airwest was operating all of its flights from the airport with Douglas DC 9 10 and McDonnell Douglas DC 9 30 jets with nonstop service to Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Pasco in addition to direct, no change of plane DC 9 jet flights to Los Angeles (LAX), Orange County Airport near Santa Ana, CA, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, OR, Santa Maria, CA and Eugene and was also operating direct, no change of plane DC 9 service to two international destinations: Guadalajara, Mexico and Mazatlan, Mexico. Also in 1975, Cascade Airways, a commuter air carrier, was operating nonstop Beechcraft 99 turboprop flights to Yakima from Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, OR, Spokane, Pullman, WA and Wenatchee, WA. Hughes Airwest was then acquired by and merged into Republic Airlines in 1980. In late 1980, Republic was operating McDonnell Douglas DC 9 30 jet service from the airport nonstop to Seattle/Tacoma and Pasco as well as direct, no change of plane DC 9 30 jet flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Boise and Eugene. Horizon Air began serving the airport on September 1, 1981, as a new independent regional air carrier with nonstop Fairchild F 27 turboprop service to Seattle/Tacoma (SEA) with Yakima being the first destination served by Horizon. By early 1985 Horizon Air was operating F 27 turboprops as well as smaller Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner propjets into the airport with nonstop flights from Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, OR, Pasco and Pullman while Cascade Airways was operating its flights with Beechcraft 1900C and larger Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprops with nonstop service from Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, OR, Spokane, Lewiston, ID, Moses Lake, WA, Pasco, Pullman, WA and Walla Walla, WA. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), Cascade and Horizon were operating a combined total of thirteen nonstop flights a day on weekdays from Seattle/Tacoma to Yakima in February 1985. Horizon Air was then acquired by Alaska Airlines in November 1986 as a wholly owned subsidiary and continues to currently serve Yakima with Alaska Airlines branded service. Jet service had returned to Yakima by early 1988 when Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was operating twice daily direct service to San Francisco with both flights making an intermediate stop in Pasco with one of these flights then continuing on from SFO to Orange County Airport in southern California. That same year, PSA was acquired by and merged into USAir which in late 1988
was operating McDonnell Douglas MD 80 jetliners twice a day nonstop from Seattle/Tacoma with both of these flights originating in San Francisco with twice daily jet service from SFO to Yakima thus being flown on a direct one stop basis. At this same time, both Horizon Air (operating code sharing service on behalf of Alaska Airlines) and United Express (operated by North Pacific Airlines on a code sharing basis on behalf of United Airlines) were also operating nonstop flights from Seattle/Tacoma to the airport, Horizon Air with de Havilland Canada DHC 8 Dash 8 and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner propjets, and United Express with British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 propjets with both air carriers also operating nonstop service from Portland, OR to Yakima at this time. During the early and mid 1990s, both Horizon Air (on behalf of Alaska Airlines) and United Express (operated by WestAir Commuter Airlines on behalf of United Airlines) continued to serve Yakima primarily with nonstop flights operated with twin turboprop aircraft from Seattle/Tacoma with Horizon operating nonstop turboprop service from Portland, OR as well. In the spring of 1995, Horizon Air was operating all of its nonstop flights from Seattle/Tacoma to Yakima with Dornier 328 propjets while United Express was operating all of its flights from SEA to the airport with British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 propjets. as of 2023, the airport has two daily passenger flights to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport operated by Alaska Airlines by their affiliate Horizon Air. The airport has entered discussions with Allegiant Airlines and Avelo Airlines to establish a flight to Las Vegas in the future.

McAllister Field covers 825 acres (334 ha) at an elevation of 1,099 feet (335 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt runways: 9/27 is 7,604 by 150 feet (2,318 x 46 m) and 4/22 is 3,835 by 150 feet (1,169 x 46 m). Yakima has been proposed as a potential reliever airport for the Seattle area by local officials.