Winter holidays bring infrequent travelers to the airport. If that’s you, check out what’s different. And if you’ve been here recently, there’s still new things to see and tricks to learn to make your experience easier and less stressful at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
Construction walls are coming down, especially near the newly redesigned, spacious Checkpoint 6 and out in the Ride App Pick-Up Area of the parking garage. Watch for activations throughout the terminal to get in the holiday spirit. Also, SEA is making pick-up and drop-off easier during peak evenings, with your first 90 minutes in General Parking free from 7 p.m. to midnight the week of December 22-28. Yule love these SEA holiday travel tips to make your journey easier.
Checkpoint 6 is open, with more room!
Checkpoint 6, on the north end of the Ticketing Lobby, reopened last month as part of the SEA Gateway Project. The redesign has doubled the queuing space and tripled the recompose area after screening. It provides six efficient security lanes and features dramatic high ceilings, public art, and expanded restrooms.
Checkpoint 6 has quick access to the D and N Concourses and offers passengers General, PreCheck, Touchless ID, Premium, and CLEAR+ screening options. Besides renovated men’s and women’s restrooms, the redesign makes several amenities available pre-security for the first time: a companion care restroom with an adult changing table, a nursing room, and a water fountain and refill station.
This checkpoint remodel follows the June opening of the new Checkpoint 1 on the south end of Baggage Claim. Check the latest layout of traveler services on this checkpoint map to find your easiest access. Or try a new one to see if you like it!
Get in the spirit!
Watch for a daily holiday parade at 9am featuring your favorite holiday characters starting Monday, December 15 through December 24 in Central Terminal. You may even spot them bringing cheer to your gate as they roam the terminal. You can learn about all of the holidays celebrated this season and enjoy other festive activations at the following locations:
- Christmas: Central Terminal
- Hannukah: Between Gates A5 and A6
- Kwanzaa: N Concourse
- Winter Gingerbread House: Children’s Play Area near Gate A1
- Holidays with SEA: Gate A1
First 90 minutes free in General Parking
Make airport pick-up and drop-off easier this holiday season. Get your first 90 minutes free in General Parking December 22-28, 7 p.m. to midnight only. This option allows you to avoid congestion on the drives and head straight out from the airport parking garage. Reserved Parking is selling fast — don’t wait to book your parking to guarantee a spot for holiday travel. In addition, be sure to use the parking guidance system with the red and green availability lights to find an open stall more quickly.
Ride App Pick-Up Area doubles in size
The rideshare area on the 3rd floor of the airport garage has doubled in size to facilitate more efficient service for providers and travelers. The renovations have increased the number of vehicle stalls to 69 — the first increase in the area since app-based rideshares were developed. Rideshare drivers will find the drive-in, drive-out capability allows easier, more efficient movement. Reminder: Ride Safely! Only accept rides from verified operators and refuse offers for transportation from strangers. Before entering a vehicle, use your app to verify your trip information. Report any offers from unverified operators to the nearest uniformed officer or SEA employee.
Expressway construction
Roadway Improvements construction continues. It makes the roads look challenging, but the same number of lanes are still available on both drives. New lanes have opened for the upper Departures drive, while lower Arrivals drive access is being shifted to temporary lanes to the west. This allows for new grading below. Eventually, two entire new lanes will be added by spring 2026.
Avoid the congestion on the airport drives by using alternatives to driving, including Link light rail, public transit, app-based rideshares, taxis/limos, scheduled airporters, door-to-door van service, and shuttle service.
Bag Claim construction clearing up
More good news: All the scaffolding on the Baggage Claim level that was part of the SEA Gateway Project, has come down, bringing us closer to completion. Two new bag claim devices have been installed at 15 and 16, replacing outdated designs. Dozens of new art pieces have found homes in new display cases, and you’ll notice better lighting and updated ceiling tiles. Yay! This is part of the rolling $5 billion worth of Upgrade SEA capital projects.
More space at north Ticketing and Bridge Level check-in
Another section of easy check-in and bag drop is available on the north end of the Alaska Airlines Ticketing Level. The new technology is part of the SEA Gateway Project, which also includes recently added Bridge Level check-in areas along the skybridges from the airport garage. You can use this check-in area even if you’re not coming from the garage.
Passenger numbers to know
Over the two- and half-week holiday period from Thursday, December 18 to Sunday, January 4, just over 2.5 million travelers are projected to travel through SEA (arriving, departing, and connecting). Passenger traffic is estimated to be up 3% from 2024. The dates encompass the Thursday prior to Christmas to the Sunday after the New Year, and the busiest days are:
- Tuesday, December 23 — 159,000 passengers
- Friday, December 19 — 157,000 passengers
- Friday, December 26 — 154,000 passengers
For context, the largest volume day at SEA was in August at 207,000 passengers. Overall, the busiest time of the year for SEA is the summer from June through August (unlike many other airports).
Real ID is in place
REAL ID is here — be ready! The REAL ID Act requires anyone traveling by airplane to use a REAL ID-compliant document. Check the full list of accepted ID documents or look up information through the Washington State Department of Licensing. If you don’t have a Real ID–compliant document, be aware that it may take you longer to get through security checkpoints.
Go-to tips and tricks
Arrive early. Avoid feeling rushed — get to the terminal at least two hours before your boarding time for a domestic flight and three hours before an international flight. Factor in the time you need to travel from off-site parking or drop-offs to the terminal. More than one-third of SEA’s daily passenger volume arrives at the airport before 9:00 a.m., causing busy conditions on the airport drives and at TSA security checkpoints. Two more peak periods occur from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m.
Take advantage of SEA Spot Saver. Secure a spot in line to make the security checkpoint process easier. Checkpoint wait times are currently not available online, on the flySEA App, or in the terminal, but staff in green can guide you to the best queue for you. Use SEA’s interactive map for directions to the checkpoints, your gate, a favorite restaurant, or amenities.
Avoid traffic. Bypass the congested Arrivals and Departures drives by using public transportation, airport parking, rideshare, taxi/limo, scheduled airporter, door-to-door van service, or a shuttle option. When picking someone up, briefly park in the SEA Airport parking garage, entering from the International Boulevard entrance to meet arriving travelers in the terminal, then exit together through the garage without ever using the drives. You can even pick up a coffee while you’re waiting!
Think opposite. If you choose to use the drives, use the lower Arrivals drive instead of the upper Departures drive during peak morning hours, and vice versa if you’re picking someone up in the evening. Or use whichever lane is moving faster — they all go to the same terminal.
Head straight to security. Check in for your flight ahead of time and download or print your boarding pass. Review your airline’s baggage policies, and if you don’t need to check a bag, head straight to the security checkpoints.
SEA is here to help. SEA’s Customer Care team is available to support passengers before, during, and after their trips. Real help is available by phone, email, social media, or chat support through Customer Care Connect, which offers closed captions and translations in more than 60 languages. Once you’re at the airport, you can find our team in green from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the two Information Desks or use Customer Care Connect touchscreens at the Information Desks by Checkpoint 4 and Gate A6.
Try a social story for help traveling. The SEA Airport Social Story and Resource Guide is designed for travelers with autism or other invisible disabilities to repeatedly review with their family or caregivers prior to travel.
Contact
Kassie McKnight-Xi
Aviation Communications and Marketing Manager
(206) 787-5940 | [email protected]
Photo at top: Artwork “Rain Shadow” by Soo Sunny Park. This suspended art piece is made of stainless-steel mesh, layered with hundreds of acrylic tiles in translucent colors. As light hits the translucent pieces, it comes to life! The colors create waves hanging above the newly opened recompose area at the end of Checkpoint 6 on the far north end of the airport.
