Most travelers won’t see all the 100-plus different construction projects transforming Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as they run-run-Rudolph through the terminal.
But they will notice scaffolding, long lines and congestion during the holiday rush.
Sea-Tac is in the middle of a $5 billion, multiyear series of upgrades totaling 120 construction projects before the July 2026 World Cup, when Seattle will host matches expected to draw hundreds of thousands of international travelers.
The build-out couples with the holiday rush, and, with space at a premium, all expansions and renovations at the airport have to be done at the same time as passengers are going through the airport.
Lance Lyttle, Port of Seattle’s managing director of aviation, likens it to performing surgery on a marathoner while they’re still running.
More than 2 million people were expected to travel through the airport between yesterday and Jan. 2. Today is expected to be the busiest of those days, with an estimated 172,000 travelers arriving, departing or connecting through Sea-Tac. For comparison, even the busiest day will be less crowded than the average day in August, when 175,000 passed through the airport, according to the Port of Seattle.
The flimsy construction walls that filled the Alaska Airlines entrance for more than a year came down in November, opening up 10,000 square feet of space for the airline that accounts for more than half of all Sea-Tac passengers.
This was the first phase of what’s dubbed the SEA Gateway Project, the $546 million renovation paid for by the Port of Seattle and Alaska. Alaska has added new technology for check-in and bag drops, and added ways to check in and drop off bags at the airport’s bridge level, so travelers coming from the airport garage or Light Rail can stop there and go straight to security checkpoints, said Port of Seattle spokesperson Perry Cooper.
“This is new space created … without enlarging the terminal, which we can’t as we’re one of the smallest footprints of any airport in the country for the amount of travelers we manage,” Cooper said.
Security Checkpoint 5, which was closest to D and N gates, closed in November to accommodate the second phase of construction to add more space in the Alaska check-in areas and redesign a new checkpoint.
Travelers will instead be directed the other four checkpoints. The Port of Seattle noted it added lanes to Checkpoints 2 and 3 before the summer rush, and more than 90% of flyers got through in less than 30 minutes. The airport will also add more lanes during busy periods at a checkpoint in the international arrivals facility.
A new Checkpoint 1 will open on the south end of the baggage claim level in early 2025, according to the Port of Seattle.
Sea-Tac celebrated a milestone Thursday on its C Concourse Expansion Project that will add four floors with 13 new dining and retail spots, seating and a 20,000 square-foot Alaska Airlines lounge. A “topping out” ceremony marked the final steel piece added to the four-floor structure.
The project will eventually expand the 81,000 square foot building to 226,530 square feet built on top of the current C Concourse. From a lookout deck encased in glass, travelers will be able to watch the airfield and see the Olympic Mountains.
For now, that work is behind construction walls.
Sea-Tac’s busiest times are before 9 a.m., when more than a third of passengers arrive, then between 2 to 5 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m. Flyers should arrive two hours before their departure time for domestic flights — three hours for international flights.
The airport is offering a 90-minute grace period from 8 p.m. to midnight in its general parking garage, allowing drivers to greet or drop off passengers instead of dealing with congested curbside pickup. Airport officials recommend entering the south end of the airport garage off International Boulevard and 182nd Street.
Work also continues on roadways outside the airport to widen lanes and improve access to departures, arrivals and the main garage.
The Port of Seattle website and other digital tools affected by a cyberattack in August were restored in late November. The SEA Visitor Pass is also back online. The pass allows nontravelers to go past security screening to welcome or send off flyers, or, as Cooper said, “come in and enjoy the holiday atmosphere.”
After all, it’s the most wonderful time of the year at Sea-Tac — if you’re a fan of construction projects.
Paige Cornwell: 206-464-2530 or pcornwell@seattletimes.com.