TagSea-Tac Airport(2023)

The Port of Seattle operates a noise information line (433-5393 or 1-800-826-1147) that allows area residents to report aircraft noise complaints, ask questions about Sea-Tac's noise abatement programs, and request evaluations of specific noise events. Calls are documented in a database, and summaries are shared with FAA air traffic officials, Port Commissioners, and the public to help monitor and improve noise programs. However, the Port cannot take immediate action — such as modifying flight tracks — based solely on phone complaints.

This archival box (Historical Box No. 1319) contains administrative records from 1994–1996 related to Sea-Tac Airport noise and site planning, including MSA Expert Panel correspondence, airport litigation documents, Puget Sound Regional Council feasibility study materials, and Port of Seattle Noise Management Reports. The files document working group meetings, legal correspondence, executive board decisions, and public hearing review packets connected to major supplementary feasibility studies and land use/noise compatibility planning. Records are held at the Washington State Archives.

In April 1993, the Puget Sound Regional Council adopted Resolution A-93-03, amending its Regional Airport System Plan to address long-term commercial air transportation needs for the central Puget Sound region. The resolution established a dual-track strategy of pursuing both a major supplemental airport within the four-county area and a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport, with the third runway to be authorized by April 1, 1996 unless a viable supplemental site could eliminate that need. Key conditions attached to the third runway approval included independent evaluation of demand management programs and measurable noise reduction performance objectives, while small supplemental airports such as Paine Field were eliminated as preferred alternatives.

In April 1993, the Puget Sound Regional Council adopted Resolution A-93-03, amending its 1988 Regional Airport System Plan to address long-term commercial air transportation needs in the central Puget Sound region. The resolution established a preferred strategy of pursuing both a major supplemental airport within the four-county area and a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport, with the third runway to be authorized by April 1, 1996 subject to conditions including noise reduction performance objectives and demand management efforts. The resolution also eliminated small supplemental airports such as Paine Field as a preferred alternative and called for site-specific environmental impact studies on the proposed Sea-Tac third runway.

This quarterly Sea-Tac Noise Abatement Report from the Port of Seattle (Q4 1992) tracks progress in reducing airport noise, highlighting that 71% of jet flights were operated by quieter Stage 3 aircraft, up from 63.4% the previous quarter. All airlines stayed within their allocated noise budgets, and new nighttime restrictions effective October 1, 1992 limited louder Stage 2 jets between midnight and 6:00 a.m. The report also outlines noise abatement flight procedures designed to route departing and arriving aircraft over industrial areas and water to minimize noise impacts on surrounding communities.

This Port of Seattle document explains flight track plots for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which are overhead graphic illustrations showing the ground paths of arriving and departing jet aircraft over a 24-hour period, separated into daytime and nighttime operations for both north and south traffic flows. The data is sourced from the FAA's Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS). Notably, the document emphasizes that even aircraft following identical routes will not fly the exact same path, as factors like pilot technique, air traffic control, weather, and aircraft performance cause flight corridors to widen with increasing distance from the airport.