520 Arrival KBFI local VFR procedures
Not for navigation. Verify against the official sources linked below before flight.
vfr arrival Airport sponsor published effective 2026-09-25 verified 2026-10-07 (2 d ago)
Published by the airport sponsor; voluntary unless ATC assigns it. If ATC assigns this route to you in Class B, C or D airspace, that assignment is an ATC instruction and compliance is required (14 CFR 91.123) — and “unable” remains available to the pilot in command.
Arrival from the northeast over the 520 floating bridge to a modified straight-in for 14L or 14R.
The route
- Contact BFI Tower on 118.3 over the 520 Floating Bridge
- Fly over I-90 at the western shoreline of Lake Washington (Mount Baker Tunnel), remain north of the VA Hospital
- Then make a modified straight-in for RWY 14L or 14R
Where it actually is
North up. The sponsor names these landmarks and publishes no coordinate for any of them — everything positioned here is derived, and each coordinate's provenance is listed with its point below. Dashed markers are depicted: this site's reading of the written route, not published fixes.
- 1 Call BFI Tower here on 118.3 SR-520 floating bridge The northern floating bridge across Lake Washington, about 3 NM north of the I-90 bridges. satellite Apple Maps street view coordinate: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
- 2 Fly over I-90 at the shoreline I-90 at the west shoreline of Lake Washington Where I-90 comes out of the Mount Baker Ridge tunnel and immediately becomes the floating bridge. Unmistakable from the air: a freeway that vanishes into a hillside on the west side and two dead-straight parallel spans running east to Mercer Island. satellite Apple Maps street view coordinate: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), I-90 crossing of the Lake Washington shoreline
- Remain north of the VA Hospital VA Hospital (VA Puget Sound) A large multi-building medical campus on the crown of Beacon Hill at 1660 S Columbian Way. The ground there is 341 ft, so the complex stands about 320 ft above the field it looks down on, and it is the biggest institutional block for a mile in any direction. The open green of Jefferson Park golf course is immediately north of it. Position reference, and a do-not-overfly marker on every map in the set. satellite Apple Maps street view coordinate: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); elevation: USGS 3DEP point query
- 3 Modified straight-in, RWY 14L or 14R 1.8 NM out on the extended 14R centreline. satellite Apple Maps
5.6 NM over 3 route points. Bearings are magnetic, converted from true at each leg's midpoint through the WMM 2025 model this site ships (14.9°E here). Shoreline, lakes, highways and building outlines © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Class B and Class D boundaries: FAA Aeronautical Information Services.
Put it in the GPS
Route points become a route; reference points ship as waypoints only — a GPS that sequences you to a do-not-overfly marker has it backwards.
- GPX route
ForeFlight (GPX 1.1
rte), most tablet apps - user_waypoints.csv ForeFlight user waypoints — this procedure only
- Garmin FPL
Garmin Pilot, or the
\FPLfolder of a GTN/GNS card - KML Google Earth
- All KBFI landmarks every curated point at this field, in one ForeFlight file
When it applies
- Arriving 14L or 14R — south flow "Then make a modified straight-in for RWY 14L or 14R" — published under "Arrivals in South Flow"
Source text, verbatim
520 ARRIVAL: • Contact BFI Tower on 118.3 over the 520 Floating Bridge • Fly over I-90 at the western shoreline of Lake Washington (Mount Baker Tunnel), remain north of the VA Hospital • Then make a modified straight-in for RWY 14L or 14R
The text above is the published source wording and is authoritative over any summary on this page.
Sources
- King County — Airport VFR Routes (9/25/2026) King County International Airport · retrieved 2026-10-07