Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Sea-Tac Airport
Sea-Tac Airport from the air, looking north.
IATA: SEA – ICAO: KSEA – FAA LID: SEA + Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Location of airport in Washington
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Port of Seattle
Serves		Seattle; Tacoma
Location		SeaTac, Washington
Hub for		Alaska Airlines Horizon Air
Elevation AMSL		433 ft / 132 m
Coordinates		47°26′56″N 122°18′34″W / 47.44889°N 122.30944°W / 47.44889; -122.30944Coordinates: 47°26′56″N 122°18′34″W / 47.44889°N 122.30944°W / 47.44889; -122.30944
Website		www.portseattle.org/seatac
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
16L/34R	11,900	3,627	Concrete
16C/34C	9,426	2,873	Concrete
16R/34L	8,500	2,591	Concrete
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			31,227,512 (3.0% down from 2008)
Aircraft movements			317,873 (7.9% down from 2008)
Air Cargo (metric tons)			269,337 (7.4% down from 2008)
Sources: FAA and airport web site FAA diagram of Sea-Tac Airport

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (IATA: SEA, ICAO: KSEA, FAA LID: SEA), also known as "Sea-Tac Airport" or Sea-Tac (pronounced /ˈsiːtæk/), is located in SeaTac, Washington, United States at the intersections of State Route 518, State Route 99 and State Route 509, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Interstate 5. It serves Seattle and Tacoma, Washington as well as the rest of western Washington. The airport is the primary hub for Alaska Airlines, whose headquarters is located near the airport, and its regional subsidiary Horizon Air. The airport has service to destinations throughout North America, Europe and East Asia.

"Welcome to Sea-Tac!" says the automated announcement in the airport's parking garage and skyways, using the nickname that residents of the Seattle metropolitan area have given it. The nickname arose before the city of SeaTac, Washington was founded.

In 2009 Sea-Tac served nearly 31.3 million passengers, making it the 18th busiest airport in the United States. It ranks 25th in total aircraft operations and 19th in total cargo volume. Seattle is the largest metropolitan area of the United States which does not serve as a hub nor secondary hub (or focus city) for any of the remaining legacy airlines. It is however a hub for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air and the remaining legacy airlines run many flights to their hubs as well as a few non hub destinations from Sea-Tac.

The top five carriers at Sea-Tac in number of passengers carried in 2009 were Alaska Airlines (34.2%), Horizon Air (13.8%), Southwest Airlines (8.9%), United Airlines (7.0%), and Northwest Airlines (6.4%).

History

Central terminal with views of the runways

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 current terminal complex was built in 1959. In 1966, SAS inaugurated the airport's first non-stop route to Europe. 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. In the mid 1980s Sea-Tac participated in the airport noise compatibility program initiated by Congress in 1979. Airport noise contours were developed, real estate was purchased and some homes were retrofitted to achieve noise mitigation.

In 1978, the U.S. ended airline regulation. Subsequently, U.S. airlines were allowed to determine routes and fares without government approval. Deregulation resulted in new service to Seattle, including TWA, which was the fourth largest U.S. airline.

After the death of U.S. 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 remove "Tacoma" from the official name. 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.

A view of the SeaTac Airport in September 2007, as construction of the new runway 16R/34L was underway. The runway opened in November 2008.

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 opened on November 20, 2008, with a total construction cost of $1.1 billion.

Operations

The Sea-Tac airport has three parallel runways that run nearly north-south, with a passenger terminal to the east. The runways range in length from about 8,500 ft (2,600 m) to 12,000 ft (3,700 m). During 2008, the airport averaged 946 aircraft operations per day, 89% of which were commercial flights, 10% of which were air taxi operations, and 1% of which were transient general aviation.

Sea-Tac's control tower, seen in 2007.

The interior of Sea-Tac's control tower, commissioned in 2004, is 850ft (79m). Visible at center is a radar display; at top right is the tower's light gun.

A new control tower was constructed for Sea-Tac beginning in 2001, and brought into service November 2004, at a cost of $26 million. The floor of the new tower's control cab is 233 ft (71 m) above ground level; the tower's overall height including antennas is 269 ft (82 m). The cab has 850 sq ft (79 m) of space and was originally designed to support operation by ten controllers, with possible future expansion up to 15. The site and construction method of the tower were designed to maximize visibility and efficacy of radar systems. SeaTac's original control tower, built in the 1950s, is now located in the airport's passenger terminal and used as a ground control tower, after being repaired from damages caused by the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001.

A recurring operational problem at Sea-Tac is misidentification of the westernmost taxiway, Taxiway Tango, as a landing surface. A large "X" has been placed at the north end of the taxiway to prevent confusion, but a number of incidents of aircraft landing on the taxiway have still occurred. The FAA has issued an alert notice dated from August 27, 2009 to September 24, 2009 urging airplanes about taking precautions such as REILs and other visual cues while landing from the north.

In 2007 Sea-Tac airport, together with the University of Illinois Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT), became the first airport to implement an avian radar system providing 24-hour monitoring of wildlife activity across the airfield. This pilot program was designed to decrease potentially fatal incidents involving avian collisions and provide a test bed for widespread implementation of the technology in the US which was expected to begin in 2009. The technology is part of a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the dangerous presence of wildlife on the airfield.

Possible new airline service

Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton said the Port of Seattle is working to secure nonstop service between Seattle and Shanghai. After the European Union and US signed an open skies agreement, airlines such as Aer Lingus and bmi, among others, have shown interest in starting service to Seattle.

Virgin Atlantic announced it looked at Seattle among other cities as a future destination when they announced their aircraft order of 15 Boeing 787-9.

V Australia has received permission from the DOT to fly to Seattle and several other U.S. cities from its planned hub in Sydney, Australia.

Emirates Airline has indicated that Seattle is being considered as a future destination, most likely using a Boeing 787.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has stated that it is considering nonstop service to Seattle from Nagoya using Boeing 787 aircraft. Along with Seattle, ANA is considering service to Denver, Boston and Miami from Tokyo, and to Los Angeles from Nagoya.

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 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. Furthermore, there were concerns that the high costs of operating the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport would be increased even further if some airline service were moved to Boeing Field, which was expected to be less expensive to operate for the airlines.

Christmas tree controversy

On December 9, 2006, a controversy arose over the airport's display of Christmas trees, which the Port of Seattle officially called "holiday trees" in all public statements. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky of Northwest Friends of Chabad-Lubavitch requested that he be permitted to install a chanukkiyah in addition to the trees. Talks were unproductive. The rabbi's attorney, Harvey Grad, sent a legal document to the port. Fearing a lawsuit, the airport took 14 Christmas trees down. This attracted international media attention. After Rabbi Bogomilsky and other Jewish leaders stated that they had no intention of suing the Port of Seattle, the port reinstalled the trees on the night of December 11, 2006.

Incidents and accidents

• 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 ft (838 m) 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, Oregon and points east, 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; five of the 38 on board died.
• November 24, 1971: Northwest Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 flying to Sea-Tac from Portland International Airport, was hijacked by D. B. Cooper. Cooper 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.
• April 15, 1988: Horizon Air Flight 2658, a twin-engine de Havilland Canada Dash-8 departing for Spokane, experienced a power loss in the #2 engine shortly after takeoff. While the crew lowered the gear for landing as they returned to the airport, a massive fire broke out in the right engine nacelle, resulting in a loss of braking and directional control. After touchdown, the aircraft veered off the runway and crossed the ramp, colliding with multiple jetways before coming to a stop. Four of the 37 passengers were seriously injured, but there were no fatalities.
• May 23, 1990: Horizon Air Flight 2300, a twin-engine Fairchild Metro III flying from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington, made an emergency descent and safe landing at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport when a window blew out of the aircraft at 14,000 ft (4,300 m). over Olympia, Washington, sucking a seat-belted passenger's head and shoulder through the broken window. Passenger Gale Sears, 38 of Portland, was held by another passenger until the aircraft landed, after Sears' head and shoulder were sucked out of the blown aircraft window. Oxygen masks deployed during the flight. Sears was treated for minor puncture wounds from the broken glass, but was otherwise uninjured. The airline stated that it appeared to be an isolated incident. The FAA and NTSB assigned investigators to the case.
• February 28, 2001: The 2001 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. The new tower entered service in November 2004. A temporary tower was used in the interim.
• December 26, 2005: Alaska Airlines Flight 536, an MD-83 headed from Seattle to Burbank, California, experienced a loss of cabin pressure shortly after takeoff. Emergency oxygen masks were deployed in the cabin and the aircraft returned to Sea-Tac to make an emergency landing. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported. According to the NTSB, a baggage handler admitted to failing to immediately report bumping the plane at the gate with baggage handling equipment. The dent created by bumping the aircraft became a 1-foot (30 cm) gash when the aircraft reached altitude.
• February 2009: More than a dozen planes landing in Seattle were targeted at night by bright green laser beams from a nearby neighborhood next to the airport. No accidents occurred, but local police and the FBI searched for suspects in the apparent prank.
• On April 29, 2009, Asiana Airlines Flight 271, a Boeing 777 flying from Seattle to Incheon International Airport (ICN) in South Korea with 179 passengers and 16 crew aboard, made an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Sea-Tac after fire and smoke were seen emanating from the left engine. The airplane dumped fuel over Puget Sound before landing safely at Sea-Tac around 3:30pm. As of May 4, 2009, a compressor stall is blamed for the incident. Local residents expressed environmental concerns about the fuel dump but authorities at Washington State's Department of Ecology assured the general public that most of the fuel evaporated, and what few fuel droplets that did reach the ground or water posed no health risks.

Terminals, airlines, and destinations

Continental & Southwest ticketing counters in SeaTac's Main Terminal

Alaska and United planes at the North Satellite Terminal

Interior of the D Concourse near Alaska gates D10 & D11

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport has a Central Terminal building, designed by Curtis W. Fentress, FAIA, RIBA of Fentress Architects, with four concourses (A–D) and two Satellite Terminals (North and South). The satellite terminals are connected to the central terminal by an underground people mover system made by Bombardier. There are three security checkpoints for the entire airport. Once through security, passengers have access to all gates. The

Central Terminal

• Concourse A has 14 gates (A1–A14)
• Concourse B has 13 gates (B1, B3, B4, B5–B12, B14, B15)
• Concourse C has
  • 13 gates (C1, C3, C8–C12, C14–C18, C20)
  • 12 parking slips (C2B — C2H, C2J — C2N)
• Concourse D has 12 gates (D1–D12)

North Satellite Terminal

• The North Satellite has 14 gates (N1–N3, N6–N16)

South Satellite Terminal

• The South Satellite has
  • 13 gates (S1–S12, S15)
  • 4 parking slips (S16A-S16D)

Note: All international arrivals (except flights from cities with customs preclearance) are handled at the South Satellite Terminal, regardless of their departure terminal.

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