Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

About Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport is a large hub airport serving Seattle and the surrounding region of Washington. The airport is identified by FAA location identifier KSEA, by the three-letter IATA code SEA used on passenger tickets and baggage tags, and by the four-letter ICAO code KSEA used in air-traffic-control flight plans and worldwide aeronautical publications. It currently hosts scheduled passenger flights operated by US-certificated carriers. Administratively the airport falls inside the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region region, headquartered in Renton, WA.

The airfield sits at approximately 47.4479° N, 122.3103° W, with a published field elevation of 433 feet above mean sea level. Local operations follow the America/Los_Angeles time zone, which is important to remember when reading published schedules, airline departure boards always display local time, not the traveler's home time. Travelers connecting through here should plan ground transportation with the airport's class in mind: as a large hub, this airport supports the full range of rental-car desks, ride-share staging areas, scheduled shuttle service, public transit access in many cases, and on-site or close-by parking decks.

"Seattle–Tacoma International Airport" is one of 406 public-use airports in Washington, and one of roughly 16,000 such airports indexed in the FAA's national airspace records.

Reference data

Estimated traffic profile

The figures below are projected from the FAA's airport-class definitions and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' published baseline ranges for each class. They are intended as orientation, not as a substitute for the live BTS T-100 segment data, which is updated quarterly.

Runways & airfield

The airfield carries an estimated 4 runways, with the longest runway running approximately 11,400 feet. A runway of this length comfortably accommodates wide-body equipment such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A330 at full payload, which is part of why this airport supports the route mix it does. Pavement type, lighting, instrument-approach minima, and any displaced thresholds are all published in the FAA's NASR record for the airport, pilots should consult the live AIP and current charts rather than relying on summary figures here.

Airlines you are likely to see at SEA

The list below is composed of US-certificated carriers that list Seattle–Tacoma International Airport as a hub or focus city. Routes change with each schedule revision, for live availability check the carrier's own booking site.

Parking at SEA

Parking at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport spans the standard tiers you would expect at a large hub airport. Short-term and hourly rates typically run between $6–$9 per hour, depending on whether you park in the garage closest to the terminal or in a satellite lot. Daily economy parking generally runs $17–$33 per day, with off-airport private lots usually undercutting the long-term garage by a few dollars per day in exchange for a short shuttle ride. A free cell-phone waiting lot is available for drivers picking up arriving passengers, sparing them the curbside-loitering ticket that has become standard at most US airports. Always cross-check rates on the airport's own website before you travel, parking pricing is one of the most volatile data points at any airport.

Ground transport & rental cars

Ground transport options at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport reflect the airport's role in the local ecosystem. Rental-car desks for the major brands (Hertz, Enterprise, Avis/Budget, National, Alamo) are available either inside the terminal or at a consolidated rental facility a short shuttle ride away, follow signage for "Rental Car Center" on arrival. Public transit reaches the airport via local bus or rail, which is usually the most economical way into the city center for travelers without a lot of luggage.

Ride-share pickup and drop-off zones at US airports are increasingly being moved to dedicated lots away from the main curb, check signage on arrival rather than relying on memory from past visits. Pickup wait times at peak hours can be substantially longer than the app's initial estimate, especially when bad weather concentrates demand. Pro tip: if you have a tight outbound connection, a pre-booked private car often beats ride-share on reliability for early-morning and late-night flights.

TSA security & checkpoint expectations

Average TSA security wait times at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport typically range from 8–24 minutes off-peak, climbing to 47 minutes or more during the early-morning and late-Sunday rushes. TSA PreCheck lanes, where available, usually clear in under five minutes regardless of class. Travelers without PreCheck can typically save the most time by arriving outside the 5–8 a.m. and 4–7 p.m. windows when business traffic concentrates at most US airports. The TSA publishes official screening guidance for current rules on liquids, electronics and prohibited items.

Traveler tips for Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

If you have a connecting itinerary through Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, build in a buffer that matches the airport's class. Large hubs run multi-concourse terminals with intra-airport people-movers, so a 60-minute domestic-to-domestic connection is workable but tight; for international-to-domestic transfers, allow at least 90 minutes after immigration to clear baggage re-check and security.

• Book the right airport. Travelers comparing flight options should look beyond the obvious nearby large hub, a closer medium or regional airport like Seattle–Tacoma International Airport can shave an hour off the total door-to-door time even when its ticket price is slightly higher.
• Read the operating carrier. When a flight is sold under a major carrier's code but flown by a regional partner, the operating carrier is normally disclosed on the booking page; this distinction matters for elite-status benefits and irregular-operations rebooking.
• Watch the weather. Weather delays at this airport propagate to and from the connecting hubs in the carrier's network, track the inbound aircraft, not just your departure board.
• Confirm baggage rules. Some regional aircraft (especially turboprops and small regional jets) gate-check carry-on bags as a matter of routine because of overhead-bin capacity. Pack medications, electronics, and valuables in the bag you intend to keep on your person.

Nearby airports

If Seattle–Tacoma International Airport doesn't fit your schedule or routing, the closest alternative public-use airports are listed below. The first column is sorted by approximate great-circle distance from this airport.

Internal references