Kootenai County Airport Director Appointed to State Aeronautics Advisory Board

Gaston Patterson, director of Coeur d'Alene Airport-Pappy Boyington Field, has been appointed by Gov. Brad Little to the Idaho Aeronautics Advisory Board, placing North Idaho's fastest-growing general aviation hub inside a statewide body that shapes aviation funding priorities and advises the Idaho Department of Transportation on aeronautics policy.

The timing carries weight. Just days before the announcement, Kootenai County commissioners voted to approve the airport's first comprehensive fee overhaul in years, a process Patterson told commissioners was long overdue. "It's been a while since there was an actual deep dive into all the fees at the airport," Patterson said. "There's a lot of fees that were outdated." An Airport Advisory Board subcommittee had audited the existing structure to ensure charges were equitable across user groups, from private pilots and flight schools to charter operators and hangar tenants.

The five-member Aeronautics Advisory Board is appointed by the governor with confirmation from the Idaho Senate, and its members serve at the governor's pleasure. The board formally consults and advises the Idaho Department of Transportation on matters concerning aeronautics statewide, which means Patterson will now have a direct channel to influence how grant dollars flow to airports across Idaho, including back to Coeur d'Alene.

That leverage matters against a backdrop of active construction priorities at Pappy Boyington Field. A new grass runway alongside Runway 2 is currently in planning, with hydroseeding targeted ahead of next summer. The airport's 7,400-foot primary Runway 6/24 already accommodates large commercial aircraft, but Patterson has separately made the case for an air traffic control tower, citing safety concerns around sequencing traffic during high-volume periods and fire season operations. In 2024, the airport secured $784,757 in FAA Airport Infrastructure Grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funds eligible for runway safety enhancements, sustainability improvements, and noise compatibility projects.

Patterson's path to director was not a straight line. He joined Kootenai County's airport staff in 2017, left, then returned in July 2022 as operations supervisor. He stepped into the interim director role on July 24, 2023, following a series of leadership transitions, and was formally appointed director by the Board of County Commissioners in October 2023.

For the roughly 300 hangars and dozens of tenants operating at Pappy Boyington Field, the board seat represents a tangible shift. Patterson will now be in the room when the state discusses airport development priorities, grant allocations, and airspace policy, giving Coeur d'Alene Airport standing it has not held in more than two decades of Idaho aeronautics deliberations.