Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Шаблон:Airport codes, also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac Шаблон:IPAc-en, is an American airport. It is located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99, 509, and 518, about Шаблон:Convert west of Interstate 5. It serves the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, as well as the rest of Western Washington.
The airport has service to destinations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. It is the primary hub for Alaska Airlines, whose headquarters is located near the airport, as well as its regional subsidiary Horizon Air. It is also a Pacific Northwest hub and international gateway to Asia and Europe for Delta Air Lines, which has significantly enlarged its presence at Sea-Tac since 2011.
In 2013, the airport served over 34.7 million passengers, making it the 15th-busiest airport in the United States. It ranks 23rd in total aircraft operations and 21st in total cargo volume. The airport is the largest generator of vehicle trips in the state, and its 13,000-car parking garage is North America's largest parking structure under one roof.
The top airlines at the airport in number of passengers carried in 2013 were Alaska Airlines (51.5%), Delta Air Lines (12.2%), United Airlines (9.9%), and Southwest Airlines (8.6%).
Шаблон:Refimprove section The 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. The first scheduled airline flights were Northwest and Trans-Canada in 1947; Western and United moved from Boeing Field in the next couple of years, and Pan Am moved in 1952–53, but West Coast stayed at Boeing Field until after the Hughes merger. Two years later "international" was added to the airport's name as Northwest Airlines began direct service to Tokyo, Japan. In 1951, there were four runways at 45-degree angles, between Шаблон:Convert long; the northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast runways intersected just west of the north-south runway that eventually became today's runway 34R. The runway was lengthened twice, first in 1959 to allow jets and then in 1961 to handle traffic for the upcoming Century 21 World's Fair.
The April 1957 OAG shows 216 departures a week on United, 80 Northwest, 35 Western, 21 Trans-Canada, 20 Pan Am, 20 Pacific Northern, and 10 Alaska. In 1966, Scandinavian Airlines inaugurated the airport's first non-stop route to mainland Europe. The first concourse opened in July 1959.
The two-story North Concourse (later dubbed Concourse D) added four new gate positions and a new wing Шаблон:Convert long and Шаблон:Convert wide. The one-story South Concourse (now Concourse A) opened in 1961, adding another Шаблон:Convert to the length of the airport. The Шаблон:Convert long Concourse B opened in December 1964. It added eight gate positions, bringing the total to 19, a Шаблон:Convert area housing international arrivals, and the offices of U.S. Customs, Immigration, Public Health and the Department of Agriculture. Concourse C opened in July 1966. Just four years later, it was extended to include another 10 gates, bringing the total to 35. The Port embarked on a major expansion plan, designed by The Richardson Associates and lasting from 1967 to 1973, adding a second runway, a parking garage, two satellite terminals, and other improvements. A$28-million new terminal literally swallowed up the old 1949 structure; it was built over and around it. Opened in 1973, the new terminal quadrupled the area for public use. On July 1, 1973, the Airport opened two new satellite terminals, along with an underground train system to connect them to the Main Terminal. In the mid-1980s, the Main Terminal was renovated and another Шаблон:Convert was added to the north end. Concourse D was expanded in 1987 with a rotunda that added four new gates. In 1993, Concourses B, C, and D were renovated. The project, designed by NBBJ, included the addition of Шаблон:Convert and the renovation of Шаблон:Convert of space in Concourses B, C, and D. On June 15, 2004, the Шаблон:Convert new Concourse A was unveiled with 14 new gates, a dozen new restaurants, new artwork and the airport's first moving sidewalks.
Residents of the surrounding area filed lawsuits against the Port in the early 1970s, complaining of noise, vibration, smoke, and other problems. The Port and the government of King County adopted the Sea-Tac Communities Plan in 1976 to address problems and guide future development. The Port spent more than $100 million over the next decade to buy homes and school buildings in the vicinity, and soundproof others nearby. In the mid-1980s, the airport 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.
In 1978, the U.S. ended airline regulation, and U.S. airlines were allowed to determine routes and fares without government approval. Deregulation resulted in new service to Seattle, including from TWA, the fourth-largest U.S. airline.
After the death of U.S. Senator Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson in 1983, the Seattle Port Commission voted to change the name of the airport to Henry M. Jackson International Airport. Denizens of Tacoma interpreted the change as an insult to their community —the second time in the airport's history that the port authorities had attempted to remove "Tacoma" from the official name. However, 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 controversy regarding the name change was resolved after several polls of both Seattle and Tacoma area residents indicated their preference for the original name by margins as much as 5:1. Helen Jackson, the widow of the late Senator Henry M. Jackson, expressed her desire that their family remain neutral in the debate. With a 3–2 vote of the Port of Seattle Commission, the name reverted to Sea-Tac early in 1984.
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 airport could reach capacity by 2000. The planning committee concluded in 1992 that the best solution was to add a third runway to the airport and construct a supplemental two-runway airport in one of the neighboring counties. Members of the community strongly opposed a third runway, as did the 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 new 3rd runway opened on November 20, 2008, with a total construction cost of $1.1 billion. Parallel to the existing two, the new runway was sited far west of the existing runways, so as to allow 2 simultaneous landings in times of low visibility. The airport's older two runways were too closely spaced to allow use of both during low visibility, a frequent condition in the Seattle area.
The three parallel runways run nearly north–south, west of the passenger terminal, and are Шаблон:Convert long. During 2008, the airport averaged 946 aircraft operations per day, 89% being commercial flights, 10% air taxi operations, and 1% transient general aviation.
A new control tower was built beginning in 2001 and opened November 2004, at a cost of $26 million. The floor of the new tower's control cab is Шаблон:Convert above ground level; the tower's overall height including antennas is Шаблон:Convert. The cab has Шаблон:Convert of space and was designed to support operation by ten controllers, with possible future expansion up to 15. The site and construction method of the tower were designed to maximize visibility and efficacy of radar systems. The airport's original control tower, built in the 1950s, is now located in the airport's passenger terminal and used as a ramp control tower, after being repaired from damages caused by the Nisqually Earthquake in 2001.
A recurring problem at the airport is misidentification of the westernmost taxiway, Taxiway Tango, as a runway. A large "X" has been placed at the north end of the taxiway to prevent confusion, but a number of aircraft have landed on the taxiway. The FAA issued an alert notice dated from August 27, 2009, to September 24, 2009, urging airplanes about taking precautions such as REILs and other visual cues while landing from the north.
In 2007 the airport, together with the University of Illinois Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT), became the first airport to implement an avian radar system providing 24-hour monitoring of wildlife activity across the airfield. This pilot program was designed to decrease potentially fatal incidents involving collisions with birds and to provide a test bed for implementation of the technology in the US which was expected to begin in 2009. The technology is part of a strategy to reduce the presence of wildlife on the airfield.
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 ran into several problems. Boeing Field is a public airport and each airline would have to have equal access, requiring 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. 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 rejected by King County Executive Ron Sims. 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.
In mid-2014, Delta Air Lines announced plans to rapidly expand Seattle into a transpacific hub. Since then, Delta has added numerous flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, London and dozens of domestic flights to feed those services. By December, Delta expects to offer 95 flights to 33 destinations from Seattle. By the third quarter of 2014, Delta hopes to be the airport's largest sole source of revenue. Delta's increased presence in Seattle has been seen by some industry analysts as a response to United's transpacific hub at San Francisco International Airport. Other analysts speculate that this growth also results from Delta's disenchantment with its Tokyo-Narita hub, citing Japan's diminishing importance in light of the boom in Chinese international travel and the lack of a Japanese partner airline.
Delta's rapid expansion at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport has created some controversy. Many of the new domestic services Delta started offering from Seattle to boost traffic to international flights encroach on routes that Alaska Airlines, a long-time partner of Delta, have historically operated. Additionally, Delta is currently seeking a total of 30 gates at Seattle-Tacoma, nearly triple its current 11 gates, to accommodate its planned growth. As an interim solution to overcrowding, the Port of Seattle has announced the North Sea-Tac Airport Renovation project (NorthSTAR). By 2020, the North Satellite will be expanded by over 240 feet, increasing the terminal's square footage by 181,000 feet and increasing the gate count from 12 to 20.
"We’re making good progress on our discussion to upgrade the facility and to turn Seattle into a huge international gateway for Delta," Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said on a recorded message to employees. President Ed Bastian, in 2014's third quarter earnings call, stated that Delta's decision to cut seats in Cincinnati and Memphis have been producing solid results. "Seattle’s domestic performance has significantly exceeded our expectations as unit revenues increased 6 percent on a 25 percent increase in capacity, driving margin improvements year-over-year," Bastian said. Seattle airport spokesman Perry Cooper has also stated that Delta currently plans to operate around 150 flights a day by 2017. This would require 19 or 20 gates, assuming the airline will operate eight flights a day from each gate. Cooper speculates that if Delta takes on 30 gates, over 240 flights a day could be operated. Ultimately, the success of Delta's growth in Seattle relies on the Port of Seattle's decisions regarding further terminal expansions and gate allocation, which is currently assigned to airlines according to a formula that utilizes their number of outbound flights.
The airport has a Central Terminal building, which was renovated and expanded in 2003. This project was designed by Curtis W. Fentress, FAIA, RIBA of Fentress Architects. The airport also has 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 made by Bombardier. There are five security checkpoints at Sea-Tac but one is only used during peak periods. Once through security, passengers have access to all gates.
Central TerminalNote: All international arrivals (except flights from cities with customs preclearance) are handled at the South Satellite Terminal, regardless of their departure terminal.
Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tokyo (Narita), Japan | 409,119 | ANA, Delta, United |
2 | Vancouver, Canada | 382,818 | Air Canada, Alaska |
3 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 248,356 | Delta |
4 | Seoul (Incheon), South Korea | 248,198 | Asiana, Korean Air, Delta Airlines |
5 | London (Heathrow), United Kingdom | 195,951 | British Airways |
6 | Beijing, China | 195,625 | Delta, Hainan |
7 | Victoria, Canada | 168,031 | Alaska |
8 | Frankfurt, Germany | 165,265 | Condor, Lufthansa |
9 | Dubai (International), United Arab Emirates | 160,933 | Emirates |
10 | Calgary, Canada | 148,956 | Air Canada, Alaska |
Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles, California | 947,000 | Alaska, Delta, United, Virgin America |
2 | San Francisco, California | 909,000 | Alaska, Delta, United, Virgin America |
3 | Denver, Colorado | 760,000 | Alaska, Frontier, Southwest, United |
4 | Anchorage, Alaska | 726,000 | Alaska, Delta, JetBlue |
5 | Chicago-O'Hare, Illinois | 648,000 | Alaska, American, United |
6 | Phoenix, Arizona (PHX) | 645,000 | Alaska, American, Southwest, US Airways |
7 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 625,000 | Alaska, Delta, Southwest |
8 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 527,000 | Alaska, American |
9 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota | 515,000 | Alaska, Delta, Sun Country |
10 | Portland, Oregon | 502,000 | Alaska, United, Delta |
Interstate 5 and its offshoot Interstate 405 intersect very close to the airport, and most people use private vehicles to arrive at the airport. Parking facilities are vast, and public transportation to the airport is somewhat limited (though less so since the introduction of light rail to Seattle) due to its distance from downtown Seattle and as well as downtown Tacoma.
Seattle's Central Link light-rail line serves the airport at the SeaTac/Airport Station, which opened on December 19, 2009.
The airport is also served both by the King County Metro 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. Yellow Cab has the exclusive taxi contract with the Port of Seattle to operate at the airport. The exclusive contract for "for hire" limo services is held by STILA (Seattle Tacoma International Limo Association). Shuttle Express is the only on demand door-to-door shuttle service operating out of the airport, with service covering Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, and the Eastside. Shuttle Express also provides limos, town cars, and buses on a charter basis. Free parking for the first thirty minutes was discontinued in the mid-1990s.
There is also a scheduled bus service to downtown Vancouver, Canada, through Quick Shuttle, with other pick-up stops at downtown Seattle, Bellingham International Airport, and drop-off stops just inside the Canadian–U.S. boundary and at the Vancouver International Airport.
A Шаблон:Convert rental car facility opened on May 17, 2012. The facility is located at the northeastern portion of the airport at the intersection of South 160th Street and International Boulevard South. The facility has 5,400 parking spaces and can handle up to 14,000 transactions per day. After the opening of the facility, 3,200 parking spaces in the central parking structure were opened up for general use. Passengers reach the facility on a five-minute trip aboard one of 29 Gillig CNG buses. Previously, only Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National had cars on site; Advantage, Dollar, Enterprise, Thrifty, EZ Rent-A-Car, and Fox Rent A Car ran shuttles to off-site locations. Payless Car Rental now has a presence. Customers of Rent-a-Wreck must ride the shuttle to the facility and then board one of the company's shuttles to Rent-a-Wreck's office.
The facility was originally scheduled to open in Spring 2011. However, construction was suspended on December 15, 2008, by vote of the Port of Seattle Commission and did not begin again until June 2009.Шаблон:Dubious
The South Satellite Terminal has reached its maximum capacity for handling international passengers in terms of immigration check stands as well as customs declaration. The existing facility is used to its full potential yet it continues to be packed with people arriving. Plans have been made for major expansions, such as adding two new baggage claims and increasing immigration inspection booths from 20 to 30. There is no certainty right now, but there is a plan for a skybridge or tunnel over to the main terminal at Concourse A where passengers will use a new international arrivals area. This is a possible solution to the double claim problem for baggage as well.
The North Satellite Terminal has only received limited upgrades and is in need of modernization. The NorthSTAR renovation project includes The North Satellite terminal renovation and several other projects including main terminal improvements, refurbished north satellite baggage systems, and new exterior walkways, stairs and elevators.
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