Seattle-Tacoma INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KSEA)
AIRPORT TRAVEL GUIDE

Overview

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA), also known as Sea-Tac, is located about 14 miles south of Seattle, Washington in the city of SeaTac.  The airport is one of two commercial airports in the Puget Sound region, the other being Paine Field (KPAE) on the north side of the Seattle metro area. Sea-Tac’s catchment area extends beyond the Puget Sound region, and is the primary airport serving a majority of Western Washington.  In 2019, Sea-Tac served just shy of 52 million passengers, making it the 8th busiest airport in the United States.

Airlines

Nearly 30 airlines, both domestic and international, serve Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

A diverse cross section of domestic carriers ranging from legacy carriers (American, Delta, and United), low cost carriers (Alaska, jetBlue, and Southwest), ultra-low cost carriers (Frontier, Spirit, and Sun Country), and regional carriers (Hawaiian) provide a number of destination, service, and price point options to passengers.

On the international front, Seattle’s location in the northwest corner of the continental United States positions it well as a gateway to Asia, and as such, the airport is served by numerous Asian carriers ANA, Asiana, EVA, Hainan, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines. Seattle is also within range to Europe and the Middle East via polar routes over the cold Arctic and is served by Aer Lingus, Air France, British Airways, Condor, Emirates, Icelandair, Lufthansa, Qatar, and Virgin Atlantic.  Additionally, Sea-Tac also has international service to Canada and Mexico through Air Canada, Aeromexico, and Volaris.

All three of the world’s major alliances, SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and oneworld, serve Seattle-Tacoma.

Sea-Tac is dominated by two carriers – Alaska Airlines, which controls over 50% of the market share at SEA, followed by Delta Air Lines, which holds about 20% market share.

Destinations

Seattle-Tacoma serves tens of dozens of destinations domestically and around the world.  Its strong position on the West Coast, combined with being Alaska Airlines’ largest hub, connects Seattle with nonstop flights to numerous destinations throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Montana, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Seattle’s size also means that it is connected to virtually every major metropolitan area in the United States through both Alaska Airlines as well as other domestic carriers.

The sheer number of international carriers at Sea-Tac brings nonstop flights to many international destinations as well.  SEA is connected to most major cities in East Asia, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, etc., as well as key Middle Eastern and European destinations such as Dubai, Doha, London, Paris, and Frankfurt.

Check with your airline to see specific flights and destinations.

Terminals

Landside

Sea-Tac has a single landside facility that houses all of the check-in, security, and baggage claim functions for the airport.  It is primarily arranged on two levels, with the departures drop-off curbside, check-in, and the TSA Security Screening Checkpoints (SSCP) functions located on the upper level.  The baggage claim and arrivals pick-up curbside are located on the lower level.  Other functions such as the USO Lounge and bridges to the parking garage and ground transportation are located on mezzanine levels above and below the departures level.

Five security checkpoints that are distributed along the arc of the terminal behind the ticket counters connect Sea-Tac’s landside with the airside. However, your access to certain checkpoints will depend on whether you are enrolled in CLEAR or TSA PreCheck®.  The main checkpoint, Checkpoint 3 is open 24/7, whereas the operating hours for the other four (1, 2, 4, and 5) are largely determined by airlines’ flight schedules. All checkpoints have access to all gates, however, if you’re looking to keep your walking distance down, use Checkpoints 1, 2, or 3 for flights departing from an S, A, or B gate, and use Checkpoints 3, 4, or 5, for flights departing from a C, D, or N gate.

Airside

Once you’ve passed security, you’ll be airside. Seattle-Tacoma’s airside is arranged in an “X” shape with the A and B concourses on the left/south legs of the “X” and the C and D concourses on the right/north legs of the “X”.  The S gates and the N gates are located in the detached South and North Satellites respectively, which can be reached by Sea-Tac’s underground automated people mover system. The South Satellite can be reached from stations located in the A and B concourse, and the North Satellite can be reached from stations located in the C and D concourses.

At the center of the “X” is Sea-Tac’s famous Central Terminal, with its soaring ceilings and large curtain wall glass that looks out over the airfield.  The Central Terminal, located just past Checkpoint 3, houses a number of Sea-Tac’s most prominent dining and shopping options, however numerous shopping and dining concessions options also are distributed throughout each of the airport’s concourses.

Due to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s rapid growth over the last several years, the airport has also implemented a system of remote plane stands, requiring passengers to ride a bus between the terminal and their plane.  The Concourse D Annex (gates D20-D26), which serve these remote stands are located across from Gate D5.  If your flight departs from one of these gates, it is recommended to arrive to the gate earlier as airlines tend to begin boarding flights using those remote gates a little bit earlier due to the added transit time to get passengers to the plane.

Rental Cars

Sea-Tac is one of several airports across the United States with a Consolidated Rental Car (CONRAC) facility where all rental car agency counters and car pickup/drop off areas are located in a single building.

The CONRAC at Sea-Tac is located off-site and can be accessed by shuttle bus from stops located along the arrivals curbside just outside the baggage claim in the lower level of Sea-Tac’s landside terminal. There are two stops – one at the north end of the terminal by the Alaska baggage claim, and one at the south end of the terminal, near the Gina Marie Arrivals Hall. Look for the signage leading to the Rental Cars.

12 car rental agencies serve Seattle-Tacoma, including major national chains such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty.  Smaller chains include Fox Rent A Car, Payless, Rent-A-Wreck, and Sixt Rent A Car.

Most agencies at Sea-Tac are open for operation 18 or more hours per day, with several open 24/7, providing a lot of scheduling flexibility for passengers to rent cars.

Last Updated: January 2021