Holiday Weekend Kicks Off Summer Travel Season at Sea-Tac Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s busiest time of the year, the summer travel season, kicks into high gear this Memorial Day holiday weekend. Travelers can expect over half a million passengers to pass through Sea-Tac Airport during the five-day period Thursday, May 21 through Monday, May 25. The busiest day of the holiday weekend is projected to be Friday, May 22 with about 120,000 travelers.
 
Through April of this year, Sea-Tac Airport has seen nearly three times the projected number of passengers, with a 13 percent overall increase and 16 percent jump of international passengers. This comes after a record setting 2014 where Sea-Tac handled nearly 37.5 million passengers.

Holiday Passenger Traffic Numbers:
Top Three Busiest Days of the Memorial Day Holiday weekend:

• Friday, May 22: 120,000 projected passengers going through the airport (inbound and outbound)
• This is nearly 20,000 more passengers than the highest day of the 2014 holiday weekend, Friday, May 23: 100,000
• Thursday, May 21: 117,000
• Monday, May 25: 103,000

 
More Summer Months Passenger Traffic Statistics:

• Sea-Tac’s peak travel period is the summer season, June – August
• August is traditionally the busiest month followed by July, June and May (December is 7th, November is 10th).
• August of 2014, Sea-Tac had 12 days with over 120,000 passengers
• The busiest day of 2014 was August 14 with 125,000 travelers, followed by June 20 with 124,000
• In 2014, a record 37.4 million passengers traveled through Sea-Tac compared to 34.7 million passengers in 2013. For the first time, Sea-Tac averaged about 100,000 travelers per day.

Amenities & Programs at Sea-Tac to Help Make Your Trip Relaxing and Enjoyable:

• Stay Connected (and keep your vehicle charged too!) – Sea-Tac was named one of Fodor Travel’s 10 Most high Tech Airports in the U.S.  Free and fast WiFi. Plus we have more than 2,415 outlets throughout our concourses and gate holding areas. As for your vehicle, we now have 48 electrical vehicle charging stations throughout our garage. The largest number of statins of any North American Airport.
• Bicycle Travelers – Enjoy our new Bicycle Assembly/Disassembly Stations. Includes tools and bike pump. (Located on baggage level between carousels 12 & 13). Additional amenities include new bike racks, short and long term storage options and updated bicycle resources webpage.
• Lounges & Relaxation – In April Sea-Tac welcomes the debut of The Club at SEA. Lounges are open to all passengers for a fee of $35. Located within Concourse A and South Satellite.
• Music – Enjoy the “Best Arrivals Experience” honored by the Future Travel Experience Awards recognizing Sea-Tac Airport’s Experience the City of Music program. Check online for a schedule of live northwest musicians entertaining in various locations and get more details about this unique showcase of the region’s music culture, including DOUBLE the amount of musicians and play times.
• Art Walk – Take the Sea-Tac Airport Art Walk for a little exercise and education in public art. The free, self-guided tour takes you ½ mile (one way) through more than 16 permanent art installations and rotating temporary exhibits. QR codes guide your way and provide artistic information.
• Stay Hydrated – Water lovers rejoice! You can take it with you -- by using the liquid drains at the checkpoints, take your favorite bottle through security, and then load up with four new bottle re-fill stations. Find them near gates A-2, A-5, D-1 and in the middle of the central terminal food court.
• Self-bag tagging – Now available in a common use kiosk for Hawaiian Airlines right across from the international ticket counters. Get your boarding pass and your bag tag on your own!
• Questions? Lost? – Pathfinders, dressed in teal and airport volunteers  in blue, are available seven days a week throughout the terminal using iPads to help travelers with quick information.
• Don’t forget other amenities to enjoy your trip – Rocking chairs in central terminal, the salmon walk on concourse B, a kids play area where concourse B and A come together, and talking water fountains. See more under Passengers Services.
• More green projects have taken off – You can see them right outside the window of the gates. Centralized Pre-Conditioned Air and Electric Ground Support Equipment will save millions of dollars and thousands of tons of greenhouse gasses. Learn more on our projects page.
• Lastly, please excuse our dust (at least on the airfield) – If you hadn’t noticed, our center runway is in the midst of a complete reconstruction. Fret not, we do not anticipate delayed or impacted passenger services/flights as a result of the construction. Learn more here.