TagRunways(20)

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport handled 49.8 million passengers and 438,391 aircraft operations in 2018, ranking 8th in the U.S. by passenger volume. A noise compatibility study forecasted total annual aircraft operations to grow from approximately 301,870 in 2009 to 399,200 by 2021, driven by increases in both domestic and international air carrier activity. The airport operates three category IIIb certified runways and is dominated by Alaska Airlines, which carries over 50% of its passengers.

This January 2018 progress update from ESA presents an analysis of aircraft arrivals at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), examining whether notable changes occurred between 2013, 2015, and 2017. The study uses radar flight track data from July and December of each year to compare fleet mix, runway usage, and aircraft altitudes at six nautical miles from the airport. Key questions addressed include whether arrival numbers increased, whether traffic flow patterns shifted between north and south flow, and whether arriving aircraft were flying at different altitudes over the study period.

This FAA notice (effective August 2015) updates the rules for how air traffic controllers manage aircraft making simultaneous approaches to parallel runways. It introduces new diagonal radar separation distances between aircraft based on how far apart the runway centerlines are, ranging from 1 mile of separation for runways 2,500–3,600 feet apart to 2 miles for runways 4,301–9,000 feet apart. While focused on controller procedures rather than noise policy directly, these standards govern how closely aircraft can be spaced during parallel runway approaches, which is relevant to arrival patterns affecting communities near airports like Sea-Tac.