July 21, 2021August 1, 2026

Activity update & outlook: Highline Forum

Document Library

Port of Seattle

Highline Forum 2021

A July 2021 presentation to the Highline Forum reported that Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) was steadily recovering from pandemic-related declines, with passenger traffic reaching 71% and scheduled seat capacity reaching 83% of 2019 levels as of June 2021. By August 2021, the flight schedule had climbed to 85% of pre-pandemic capacity, with Alaska Airlines leading the recovery at 97% of its 2019 schedule, while United Airlines lagged at 66%. The document highlights that airlines had largely restored operations to meet rebounding traveler demand.

Open full document

Notes

A presentation delivered to the Highline Forum by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on July 21, 2021, covering passenger traffic and capacity recovery trends. As of June 2021, passenger traffic had reached 71% and scheduled seat capacity had reached 83% of 2019 levels. The August 2021 flight schedule was projected at 85% of 2019 capacity, with airline-by-airline breakdowns showing Alaska at 97% and United at 66%.

As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

V V