Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
nativename = Sea-Tac Airport

---

caption = Main terminal with views of the runways at SeaTac
IATA = SEA
ICAO = KSEA
FAA = SEA
type = Public
owner =
operator = Port of Seattle
city-served = Seattle; Tacoma
location = SeaTac, Washington
elevation-f = 433
elevation-m = 132
coordinates = coord|47|26|56|N|122|18|34|W|type:airport_region:US
website = [http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/ www.portseattle.org/seatac/]
r1-number = 16L/34R
r1-length-f = 11,900
r1-length-m = 3,627
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 16C/34C
r2-length-f = 9,425
r2-length-m = 2,873
r2-surface = Concrete
r3-number = 16R/34L (opening Nov 20, 2008)
r3-length-f = 8,500
r3-length-m = 2,591
r3-surface = Concrete
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Passengers
stat1-data = 31,296,628
stat2-header = Aircraft movements
stat2-data = 347,046
stat3-header = Air Cargo (metric tons)
stat3-data = 319,013
footnotes = Sources: FAAFAA-airport|ID=SEA|use=PU|own=PU|site=26395.*A, effective 2007-07-05] and airport web site [ [http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/ Seattle-Tacoma International Airport] (official site)]

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Airport codes|SEA|KSEA|SEA, also known as Sea-Tac Airport, is located in SeaTac, Washington, United States at the intersections of State Route 518, State Route 99 and State Route 509. It is located about 1.5 miles from Interstate 5. It serves Seattle, Washington and Tacoma, Washington as well as western Washington state. The airport is a hub for Alaska Airlines, whose headquarters is located near the airport, and its regional subsidiary Horizon Air. The airport has service to many destinations throughout North America, Europe and East Asia. It is also a focus city for Northwest Airlines.

"Welcome to Sea-Tac!" is said in an automated announcement in the airport's parking garage and skyways, in reference to the nickname that locals of the Seattle metropolitan area have given it. The name came before the city of SeaTac, Washington was founded.

In 2007 Sea-Tac served nearly 31.3 million passengers, making it the 17th busiest airport in the United States. It ranks 25th in total aircraft operations and 19th in total cargo volume.cite web|url=http://www.portseattle.org/downloads/seatac/2007activity.pdf|title= 2007 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Activity Report|accessdate=2008-09-17|publisher=Port of Seattle Commission]

The top five carriers at Sea-Tac in number of passengers carried in 2007 were Alaska Airlines (35.0%), Horizon Air (13.1%), Southwest Airlines (8.7%), United Airlines (8.6%), and Northwest Airlines (6.7%).

History

Seattle-Tacoma Airport was constructed by the Port of Seattle in 1944 to serve civilians of the region, after the U.S. military took control of Boeing Field for use in World War II. The Port received $1 million from the Civil Aeronautics Administration to build the airport, and $100,000 from the City of Tacoma. Commercial use of the airport began after the war ended, with the first scheduled flights occurring in 1947. Two years later, the word "International" was added to the airport's name as Northwest Airlines began direct service to Tokyo. The runway was lengthened twice, first in 1959 to allow use by jets, and again in 1961 to handle increased traffic for the upcoming Century 21 World's Fair. In 1966, SAS inaugurated the airport's first non-stop route to Europe. The Port embarked on a major expansion plan from 1967 to 1973, adding a second runway, a parking garage, two satellite terminals, and other improvements to the airport.

Numerous residents of the surrounding area filed lawsuits against the Port in the early 1970s, complaining of noise, vibration, smoke, and other problems caused by the airport. The Port, together with the government of King County, adopted the Sea-Tac Communities Plan in 1976 to address the airport's impact on the area and guide its future development. The Port spent more than $100 million over the next decade to buy out homes and school buildings in the immediate vicinity, and soundproof others nearby. In the mid 1980s Sea-Tac participated in the airport noise compatibility program initiated by Congress in 1979. Airport noise contours were developed, real estate was purchased and some homes were retrofitted to achieve noise mitigation. [C.Michael Hogan, Ballard George et al., "Residential noise insulation at Seattle Tacoma International Airport", Earth Metrics Inc., published by the Federal Aviation Administration and Seattle Tacoma International Airport (1984)]

In 1978, the U.S. ended airline regulation. Subsequently, U.S. airlines were allowed to determine routes and fares without government approval. Deregulation resulted in new service to Seattle, including TWA, which was the fourth largest U.S. airline.

After the death of U.S. Senator "Scoop" Jackson in 1983, the Seattle Port Commission voted to change the name of the airport to Henry M. Jackson International Airport, ostensibly to honor the late Senator. However, denizens of Tacoma interpreted the name change as an insult to their community —the second time in the airport's history that the port authorities had attempted to "erase" Tacoma from the map. But the $100,000 that Tacoma had provided for the airport's construction during World War II had come with an explicit promise that the city would be included in the airport's name. The City of Tacoma eventually prevailed in their attempt to return the long-standing moniker, and the name reverted to Sea-Tac early in 1984. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E0DF1539F936A35750C0A962948260]

Starting in the late 1980s, the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that Sea-Tac Airport could reach capacity by 2000. The planning committee concluded in 1992 that the best solution was to add a third runway to Sea-Tac and construct a supplemental two-runway airport in one of the neighboring counties. Members of the community strongly opposed a third runway, as did Highline School District and the cities of Des Moines, Burien, Federal Way, Tukwila, and Normandy Park, but a 1994 study concluded there were no feasible sites for an additional airport. The Port of Seattle approved a plan for the new runway in 1996, prompting a lawsuit from opponents. The Port secured the necessary permits by agreeing to noise reduction programs and environmental protections. Runway opponents appealed these permits, but dropped their challenges in 2004. The runway is near completion, and is scheduled to open in 2008 at a cost of $1.1 billion.

There have been some problems in the past with airplanes landing on Taxiway Tango, mistaking it for one of the runways. A large X has been placed at the north end of the taxiway to prevent the planes mistaking it with a runway. More strategies have been used to prevent Taxiway Tango from being mistaken for Runway 16L, but all attempts have failed. [cite web|url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=seatac13&date=20051113|title=Pilots mistake taxiway for runway at Sea-Tac|accessdate=2008-09-17|publisher=The Seattle Times]

Possible new airline service

Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton said the Port of Seattle is working to secure nonstop service between Seattle and Shanghai. After the European Union and US signed an open skies agreement, airlines such as Aer Lingus and bmi, among others, have shown interest in starting service to Seattle. [" [http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=france210&date=20070221&query=New+Service+To+Paris Air France plans nonstop flights to Paris from Seattle] ," "The Seattle Times"]

Virgin Atlantic announced it looked at Seattle among other cities as a future destination when they announced their aircraft order of 15 Boeing 787-9. [" [http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/allaboutus/pressoffice/pressreleases/news/pr240407a.jsp VIRGIN ATLANTIC MAKES EUROPE'S LARGEST SINGLE ORDER FOR FUEL-EFFICIENT BOEING 787 DREAMLINERS] ," "Virgin Atlantic"]

V Australia has received permission from the DOT to fly to Seattle and several other U.S. cities from its planned hub in Sydney, Australia.

Emirates Airline has indicated that Seattle is being considered as a future destination, most likely using a Boeing 787. [" [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003713409_emirates19.html Emirates airline CEO lets ambition fly free] ," "The Seattle Times"]

Shanghai Airlines has anounced intention to start service between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Seattle for the Summer/Fall of 2009 with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This flight is still pending government approval.

outhwest Airlines controversy

Citing increased landing fees and other costs due to the aforementioned work at the airport, Southwest Airlines threatened in 2005 to move to nearby Boeing Field. This plan, however, ran into several problems. First, because Boeing Field is a public airport and each airline would have to have been offered equal access, this would have required more capacity than available on the airport's single runway suitable for large commercial airplanes. (Boeing Field has a parallel, smaller runway used by general-aviation airplanes.) Major renovations to the airport would have been required to alleviate this problem. While Southwest did indicate willingness to pay for upgrades to the airport, there were also problems with the transportation infrastructure around Boeing Field, which was not designed to handle traffic in and out of a major passenger airport. It eventually became clear that Southwest Airlines would not fund the necessary transportation improvements, and the plan was shot down by King County Executive Ron Sims. [" [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/244262_southwest12.html Plan won't fly: Sims kills Southwest's Boeing Field hopes] ," "Seattle Post-Intelligencer"] Furthermore, there were concerns that the high costs of operating the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport would be increased even further if some airline service were moved to Boeing Field, which was expected to be less expensive to operate for the airlines.

Christmas tree controversy

On December 9, 2006, a controversy arose over the airport's display of Christmas trees, which the Port of Seattle officially called "holiday trees" in all public statements. Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky of Northwest Friends of Chabad-Lubavitch requested that he be permitted to install a chanukkiyah in addition to the trees. Talks were unproductive. The rabbi's attorney, Harvey Grad, sent a legal document to the port. Fearing a lawsuit, the airport took 14 Christmas trees down. This attracted international media attention. After Rabbi Bogomilsky and other Jewish leaders stated that they had no intention of suing the Port of Seattle, the port reinstalled the trees on the night of December 11, 2006. [* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003473318_seatactrees12m.html The Seattle Times: Christmas trees going back up at Sea-Tac]
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=455702 Fight or Light? Controversy and Irony at SeaTac Airport] ]

Incidents and accidents

*November 30, 1947: Alaska Airlines Flight 009, a Douglas C-54A en route to Seattle from Anchorage, Alaska, landed in heavy fog and damp conditions after failed attempts at nearby Boeing Field and Paine Field in Everett. The plane touched down 2,748 feet beyond the approach area to Runway 20 and sped onto a nearby road, colliding with an automobile and bursting into flames. Nine fatalities resulted from the accident, including a blind woman riding in the car.
*April 2, 1956: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser headed to Portland, Oregon and points east, experienced reduced power and extreme buffeting shortly after take-off due to an improper setting of the airplane's cowl flaps by the flight engineer. Plans were initially made to land at McChord Air Force Base, but the pilot was forced to make a water landing in Puget Sound east of Maury Island. The plane sank within 15 minutes; five of the 38 on board died.
*November 24, 1971: Northwest Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727 flying to Sea-Tac from Portland International Airport, was hijacked by Mr. D. B. Cooper. Cooper released the passengers after landing in exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes, ordered the plane back into the air, and jumped out over Southwest Washington with the money.
*April 15, 1988: Horizon Air Flight 2658, a twin-engine de Havilland Canada Dash-8 [AP news report. Published: April 16, 1988 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5DF123DF935A25757C0A96E948260 NY Times link] ] departing for Spokane, experienced a power loss in the #2 engine shortly after takeoff. While the crew lowered the gear for landing as they returned to the airport, a massive fire broke out in the right engine nacelle, resulting in a loss of braking and directional control. After touchdown, the aircraft veered off the runway and crossed the ramp, colliding with multiple jetways before coming to a stop. Four of the 37 passengers were seriously injured, but there were no fatalities.
*February 28, 2001: The 2001 Nisqually earthquake damaged the Air Traffic Control tower at Sea-Tac, although a new earthquake-resistant tower was being built at the time to replace the old one. It is now operational.

Terminals, airlines, and destinations

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has a Central Terminal building with four concourses (A - D) and two Satellite Terminals (North and South). The satellite terminals are connected to the central terminal by an underground people mover system. There are three security checkpoints for the entire airport. Once through security, passengers have access to all gates.

Central Terminal

Concourse A

Concourse A has 14 Gates: A1 - A14

* American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK, St. Louis)
* Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City)
** Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines (Salt Lake City)
* Frontier Airlines (Denver)
* JetBlue Airways (Boston, Long Beach, New York-JFK, San Diego)
* Midwest Airlines (Kansas City)
* Sun Country Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
* US Airways (Charlotte, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Phoenix)
* Virgin America (Los Angeles, San Francisco)

Concourse B

Concourse B has 11 Gates: B3, B5 - B12, B14, B15

Note: International Arrivals are handled in the South Satellite Terminal.

* Alaska Airlines
** Horizon Air (Bellingham, Billings, Boise, Bozeman, Calgary, Edmonton, Eugene, Fresno, Great Falls, Helena, Idaho Falls, Kalispell, Kamloops [seasonal] , Kelowna, Lewiston, Medford, Missoula, Pasco, Pendleton [begins October 28] , Portland (OR), Pullman, Redmond, Reno/Tahoe, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Spokane, Sun Valley, Vancouver, Victoria, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Yakima)
* Continental Airlines (Anchorage, Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
* Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu, Kahului)
* Southwest Airlines (Albuquerque, Boise, Chicago-Midway, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Nashville [seasonal; ends January 11] , Oakland, Phoenix, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose (CA), Spokane)

Concourse C

Concourse C has 11 Gates (with jetways): C8 - C12, C14 - C18, C20 and 12 parking slips (used by Horizon): C2B - C2H, C2J - C2N

Note: International Arrivals are handled in the South Satellite Terminal.

* Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Boise, Boston, Burbank, Cancún [seasonal] , Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fairbanks, Honolulu, Juneau, Kahului, Ketchikan, Kona [begins November 17] , Las Vegas, Lihue, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Cabos [seasonal] , Mazatlan [seasonal] , Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul [begins October 26] , Newark, Oakland, Ontario (CA), Orange County, Orlando, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta [seasonal] , Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Sitka [seasonal] , Spokane, Tucson, Vancouver [seasonal] , Washington-Reagan)
** Horizon Air (See Concourse B)

Concourse D

Concourse D has 11 Gates: D1 - D11
* Alaska Airlines (See Concourse C)

North Satellite Terminal

The North Satellite Terminal has 14 Gates: N1 - N3, N6 - N16

Note: International Arrivals are handled in the South Satellite Terminal.

* Air Canada (Toronto-Pearson)
** Air Canada Jazz (Calgary, Vancouver)
* Alaska Airlines (See Concourse C)
* United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Honolulu [seasonal] , Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles)
** United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines (Los Angeles, Portland (OR), Spokane)

outh Satellite Terminal (International)

The South Satellite Terminal has 13 Gates (with jetways): S1 - S12, S15 and four parking slips: S16A-S16D.

Note: All international arrivals (except flights from cities with customs preclearance) and the following departures are handled in the South Satellite Terminal:

* Aeroméxico (Guadalajara, Los Cabos [begins October 12] [ [http://www.aeromexico.com/usa/english/pages/travel/what_new/flights/seattle.html?zone=homepage Aeromexico offers new service between Los Cabos and Seattle] ] , Mexico City)
* Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
* AirTran Airways (Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Milwaukee) [seasonal]
* Alaska Airlines
** Horizon Air (See Concourse B)
* Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Incheon)
* British Airways (London-Heathrow)
* EVA Air (Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan)
* Hainan Airlines (Beijing)
* Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
* Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
* Northwest Airlines (Amsterdam, Beijing [begins March 1] [ [http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080508/20080508006313.html?.v=1 Northwest Airlines Announces New Nonstop Service between Seattle and Beijing] ] , Detroit, Honolulu, Indianapolis [seasonal] , Kahului, Kona, London-Heathrow, Memphis [seasonal] , Minneapolis/St. Paul, Tokyo-Narita)
* Scandinavian Airlines System (Copenhagen)

Ground transportation and access

The airport is served both by King County's Metro Transit bus system and Sound Transit regional express buses. Taxis, rental cars and door-to-door shuttle service are available. All public transit services are located at the end of baggage claim next to door 00. Taxis and door-to-door shuttle services are located on the third floor of the parking garage in the Ground Transportation center. STITA (Seattle Tacoma International Taxi Association) has the exclusive taxi contract with the Port of Seattle to operate at SeaTac Airport, as does STILA (Seattle Tacoma International Limo Association) for all "for hire" limo services. Shuttle Express is the only on demand door-to-door shuttle service operating out of SeaTac, with service covering Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, and the Eastside. Shuttle Express also provides limos, towncars, and buses on a charter basis. Free parking for the first 30 minutes was discontinued in the mid 1990s.

There is also a limited bus service to downtown Vancouver, Canada through Quick Coach, with stops at downtown Seattle, Bellingham International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport. The cost is about $40 each way.

Future Development

An 8,500-foot long third runway is currently under construction and is slated to be open for use in November 2008.

The airport will be served by the SeaTac Airport Station on the Sound Transit Central Link light rail line starting in December 2009.

The Port of Seattle is expected to approve a 23-acre rental car facility to be sited at the northeastern portion of the airport. The rental car facility will have 5,400 parking spaces and free up 3,200 parking spaces in the current parking structure. This facility will open in 2011. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004203036_rentalcars26m.html Local News | Port of Seattle to start up rental-car center? | Seattle Times Newspaper ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/ Seattle-Tacoma International Airport] (official site)
* [http://www.historylink.org/results.cfm?keyword=st03 HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History] - Detailed articles on the history of the airport.
*WSDOT Pilot's Guide: [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/aviation/PilotsGuide/PilotsGuide_Seattle_SeattleTacomaIntl.pdf Seattle-Tacoma International] (PDF 57 kb)
*WSDOT Economic Impacts: [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/aviation/EconImpacts/NWR/NWR_SeaTac.pdf Seattle-Tacoma International] (PDF 444 kb)
*WikiMapia|47.449|-122.3093|13
*FAA-diagram|00582
*US-airport|SEA