Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
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FAA diagram of Sea-Tac Airport |
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Sea-Tac Airport from space with the SR 509 freeway to the west and the SR 518 freeway to the north |
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport , also known as
Sea-Tac Airport, is located in
SeaTac, Washington at the intersections of
Washington State Route 518,
Washington State Route 99 and
Washington State Route 509. It is located about 1.5 miles from
Interstate 5. It serves
Seattle, Washington and
Tacoma, Washington as well as the
Seattle metropolitan area. The airport is a hub for
Alaska Airlines and its regional subsidiary
Horizon Air and has service to many destinations throughout
North America,
Europe, and
East Asia. It is also a focus city for
Northwest Airlines.
The airport has public
Wi-Fi available, provided by
Wayport.
"Welcome to Sea-Tac!" is said in an automated announcement in the airport's parking garage and skyways, in reference to the nickname that locals of the
Seattle metropolitan area have given it. The name came before the city of
SeaTac, Washington was founded.
In 2005, Sea-Tac served 29 million passengers making it the 17th busiest airport in the United States and 30th busiest in the world. It ranks 29th in total aircraft operations and 20th in total cargo volume. Despite the number of passengers that come through this airport it is not a major international hub.
Seattle-Tacoma Airport was constructed by the
Port of Seattle in
1944 to serve civilians of the region, after the U.S. military took control of
Boeing Field for use in
World War II. The Port received $1 million from the
Civil Aeronautics Administration to build the airport, and $100,000 from the City of Tacoma. Commercial use of the airport began after the war ended, with the first scheduled flights occurring in
1947. Two years later, the word
International was added to the airport's name as
Northwest Airlines began direct service to
Tokyo. The runway was lengthened twice, first in
1959 to allow use by
jets, and again in
1961 to handle increased traffic for the upcoming
Century 21 World's Fair. The Port embarked on a major expansion plan from
1967 to
1973, adding a second runway, a parking garage, two satellite terminals, and other improvements to the airport.
Numerous residents of the surrounding area filed lawsuits against the Port in the early 1970s, complaining of noise, vibration, smoke, and other problems caused by the airport. The Port, together with the government of
King County, adopted the Sea-Tac Communities Plan in
1976 to address the airport's impact on the area and guide its future development. The Port spent more than $100 million over the next decade to buy out homes and school buildings in the immediate vicinity, and
soundproof others nearby.
After the death of US Senator
"Scoop" Jackson in
1983, the
Seattle Port Commission voted to change the name of the airport to Henry M. Jackson International Airport, ostensibly to honor the late Senator. However, denizens of
Tacoma interpreted the name change as an insult to their community--the second time in the airport's history that the port authorities had attempted to "erase" Tacoma from the map. But the $100,000 that Tacoma had provided for the airport's construction during
World War II had come with an explicit promise that the city would be included in the airport's name. The City of Tacoma eventually prevailed in their attempt to return the long-standing moniker, and the name reverted to Sea-Tac early in 1984.
In the mid 1980s Sea-Tac participated in the airport noise compatibility program intitiated by Congress in 1979. Airport noise
contours were developed, real estate was purchased and some homes were retrofitted to achieve
noise mitigation. Starting in the late 1980s, the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that Sea-Tac Airport could reach capacity by
2000. The planning committee concluded in
1992 that the best solution was to add a third runway to Sea-Tac and construct a supplemental two-runway airport in one of the neighboring counties. Members of the community strongly opposed a third runway, as did
Highline School District and the cities of
Des Moines,
Burien,
Federal Way,
Tukwila, and
Normandy Park, but a
1994 study concluded there were no feasible sites for an additional airport. The Port of Seattle approved a plan for the new runway in
1996, prompting a lawsuit from opponents. The Port secured the necessary permits by agreeing to noise reduction programs and environmental protections. Runway opponents appealed these permits, but dropped their challenges in
2004. The runway is currently under construction, and is scheduled for completion in
2008 at a cost of $1.1 billion. This runway is one of the most expensive runways ever constructed in the world because of delays. A project recently completed is the Central Terminal that contains the Pacific Marketplace, a retail and dining area of the airport. Lately, there have been some problems with airplanes landing on Taxiway Tango, mistaking it for one of the runways. A large X has been placed at the north end of the taxiway to prevent the planes mistaking it with a runway[
1].
Southwest Airlines controversy
Citing increased landing fees and other costs due to the aforementioned work at the airport,
Southwest Airlines threatened in 2005 to move to nearby
King County International Airport, otherwise known as Boeing Field. This plan, however, ran into several problems. First, because Boeing Field is a public airport and each airline would have to have been offered equal access, this would have required more capacity than available on the airport's single runway suitable for large commercial airplanes. (Boeing Field has a parallel, smaller runway used by general-aviation airplanes.) Major renovations to the airport would have been required to alleviate this problem. While Southwest did indicate willingness to pay for upgrades to the airport, there were also problems with the transportation infrastructure around Boeing Field, which was not designed to handle traffic in and out of a major passenger airport. It eventually became clear that Southwest Airlines would not fund the necessary transportation improvements, and the plan was shot down by King County Executive Ron Sims.
Incidents and disasters
November 30,
1947:
Alaska Airlines Flight 009, a
Douglas C-54A en route to Seattle from
Anchorage, Alaska, landed in heavy fog and damp conditions after failed attempts at nearby
Boeing Field and Paine Field in
Everett. The plane touched down 2,748 feet beyond the approach area to Runway 20 and sped onto a nearby road, colliding with an automobile and bursting into flames. Nine fatalities resulted from the accident, including a blind woman riding in the car.
April 2,
1956:
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, a
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser headed to
Portland, Ore. experienced reduced power and extreme buffeting shortly after take-off due to an improper setting of the airplane's cowl flaps by the flight engineer. Plans were initially made to land at
McChord Air Force Base, but the pilot was forced to make a
water landing in
Puget Sound east of
Maury Island. The plane sank within 15 minutes, killing five of the flight's 38 passengers.
November 24,
1971:
Northwest Airlines Flight 305, flying to Sea-Tac from
Portland International Airport, was hijacked by a man now known as
D. B. Cooper. He released the passengers after landing in exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes, ordered the plane back into the air, and jumped out over Southwest Washington with the money.
January 31,
2000:
Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which was headed on a
Puerto Vallarta-
San Francisco-Seattle-Tacoma route, crashed into the
Pacific Ocean, killing everyone on board.
February 28,
2001: The
Nisqually earthquake damaged the Air Traffic Control tower at Sea-Tac, although a new earthquake resistant tower was being built at the time to replace the old one. It is now operational.
December 26,
2005:
Alaska Airlines Flight 536 , which was headed from
Seattle, WA to
Burbank, CA was forced to make an emergency landing. The cause was a 12" by 6" hole in the
fuselage, which caused the plane to lose cabin pressure. The cause of the hole was a collision prior to the flight by a baggage handling cart which created a dent that turned into a large hole when the plane hit altitude.
February 12,
2006:
United Airlines Flight 949, arriving from
O'Hare International Airport, collided with a passenger bridge shortly after landing. The aircraft, a
Boeing 757, had taxied to the jetway, stopped and set its brakes. The aircraft then rolled forward, causing minor damage to the plane after an engine cowling struck the bridge. One passenger and a flight attendant experienced minor injuries as a result of the incident.
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Rutan Voyager replica in Main Arrivals Hall |
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has a main terminal building with four concourses, and two satellite terminals. The satellite terminals are connected to the main terminal by an underground
people mover system. Major news was announced that British Airways which operates daily flights between Seattle and London (Heathrow), has just announced it will add another flight on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, making it two flights a day on those days.
Concourse A
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American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK, St. Louis)
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AirTran Airways (Atlanta)
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China Airlines Departures (Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek)
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Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City)
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Delta Connection operated by
SkyWest (Salt Lake City)
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Frontier Airlines (Denver)
*
Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu, Kahului)
*
Sun Country Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
*
US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh)
**
US Airways operated by
America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix)
**
US Airways Express operated by
Mesa Airlines (Las Vegas, Phoenix)
Concourse B
*
Continental Airlines (Anchorage, Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
*
JetBlue Airways (Boston, New York-JFK)
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Southwest Airlines (Albuquerque, Boise, Chicago-Midway, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Nashville, Oakland, Phoenix, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose (CA), Spokane)
Concourse C
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Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Boise, Boston, Burbank, Cancun [starts October 27th], Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Cabos (seasonal), Miami, Newark, Oakland, Ontario, Orange County, Orlando, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Sitka (seasonal), Spokane, Tucson, Vancouver, Washington-Reagan)
**
Horizon Air (Bellingham, Billings, Boise, Bozeman, Butte, Calgary, Edmonton, Eugene, Fresno, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Kelowna, Lewiston, Medford, Missoula, North Bend/Coos Bay, Pasco, Portland (OR), Pullman, Redmond, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa [begins March 20, 2007], Spokane, Sun Valley, Vancouver, Victoria, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Yakima)
Concourse D
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Alaska Airlines (see above)
North Satellite
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Air Canada (Toronto)
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Air Canada Jazz (Vancouver)
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Alaska Airlines (see above)
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United Airlines (Anchorage, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles)
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United Express operated by
SkyWest (Portland (OR), Spokane)
South Satellite (international)
Gates S1-S12, S15, and S16A-D
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Air Mobility Command**
ATA Airlines**
World Airways*
Alaska Airlines (International Arrivals)
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Horizon Air (International Arrivals)
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Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Incheon)
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British Airways (London-Heathrow)
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China Airlines (Arrivals)
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EVA Air (Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek)
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Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
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Northwest Airlines (Amsterdam, Detroit, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Kahului, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Seoul-Incheon, Tokyo-Narita)
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Scandinavian Airlines System (Copenhagen)
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United Airlines (International Arrivals)
Private pilots please note that
Boeing Field is a short drive north, and courtesy cars are available so small aircraft approaching at 75 knots can avoid interfering with jets at 130 knots.
Should a private pilot wish to fly into SEA, the airport has a landing fee with a minimum invoice of $25, and ASIG, the on-field FBO has a minimum $19 ramp fee. ASIG will transport people between the FBO and the terminal, so picking up or dropping off airline passengers is as easy as flying into Boeing Field.
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Seattle-Tacoma International Airport*
Sea-Tac Spotting Areas*
HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History - Detailed articles on the history of the airport.
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WSDOT Pilot's Guide:
Seattle-Tacoma International (
PDF 57 kb)
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WSDOT Economic Impacts:
Seattle-Tacoma International (
PDF 444 kb)
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ASIG at the SEA airport*
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport facts and photography
