January 1, 1949August 1, 2026

SeaTac Baggage Claim – 1949

Interior view of the baggage claim area at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 1949, showing passengers waiting at a long wooden counter to collect luggage. The image caption reads 'SeaTac Baggage Claim - 1949,' depicting the original low-slung terminal building with panoramic windows overlooking the surrounding landscape.

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Black and white photograph showing passengers gathering around baggage claim area at Seattle-Tacoma Airport in 1949. The image captures the early days of commercial aviation with people in formal attire waiting in what appears to be a modernist terminal building with large windows.

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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.

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