What to know about Sea-Tac Airport’s new arrivals facility

The new International Arrivals Facility at Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport welcomed its 1st passenger flight early Tuesday morning, signaling the begin of the long-predicted facility’s phased opening program — and the commencing of a new period for intercontinental vacation, airport officers say.

Passengers on Delta Air Lines flight 196 from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport taxied below the facility’s 780-foot prolonged pedestrian bridge en route to their gate, where they gained a water turret salute. Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho states the facility opening marks “a huge milestone.”

With the loosening of pandemic-period travel constraints like needed masking, expanded services out of the airport and the new facility, it’s a complete new globe at the airport for worldwide vacationers. Here’s a refresher on where you can fly overseas from Seattle, plus variations vacationers must hope on their upcoming take a look at to the airport.  

New and familiar locations

By this slide, 44 total intercontinental products and services will be in procedure at the airport, with nonstop flights servicing 29 intercontinental locations by 25 airlines. (In airline jargon, a assistance is 1 precise airline’s route in between two places.) That’s up from pre-pandemic figures of 42 solutions, 26 destinations and 22 airways. As of April, 38 international products and services are in operation at the airport, with nonstop flights to 24 unique global places.

Prior to the pandemic, the airport was one particular of the quickest-increasing in the region, stated Perry Cooper, the airport’s media relations supervisor. The pandemic depressed international vacation by 79{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} in 2020 vs. 2019, but additional companies and passengers are returning to the airport, when other companies have been discontinued. That involves the Norwegian Air shuttle to London’s Gatwick Airport, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, and Delta to Osaka, Japan. Other immediate expert services to China have nevertheless to return, in part due to federal agreements and restrictions.

Nonetheless, 8 new worldwide products and services, including five new airlines, have debuted or been announced at the airport around the past two yrs. Running now: Qatar Airways to Doha Alaska Airlines’ seasonal service to Belize American Airlines to London and WestJet services to Calgary, Alberta. Still to arrive: Turkish Airlines commences provider to Istanbul in Could in June, Finnair will be traveling to Helsinki Air Canada goes to Montreal that thirty day period, as well and service to Tahiti by means of Air Tahiti Nui launches in October.  

Whilst London and Calgary, for illustration, additional new airways at places by now serviced from Seattle, Belize, Helsinki, Doha, Montreal, Istanbul and Tahiti are all new places.

“For [airlines] to have self-confidence in this region and current market displays the possible in organization and leisure alternatives they see,” Cooper claimed. “It enhances how quick our firms are escalating, notably those people with global connections, and highlights the variety of our region as we proceed to improve.”

In addition to new products and services at the airport, some products and services that had been misplaced to Seattle travelers are back again. Virgin Atlantic resumed assistance to London in March Alaska is resuming flights to Edmonton, Alberta, this thirty day period Delta restarts service to London in Might and Aer Lingus will yet again fly to Dublin starting up in July.

The international vacation experience 

It’s no coincidence that Seattle’s worldwide journey selections are growing along with the airport. Cooper claims the new Global Arrivals Facility will bring Seattle’s worldwide vacation knowledge into the future.  

“This seriously delivers us to exactly where other airports are about the region,” Cooper reported.

“Our facility was so outdated and cramped we have been performing the finest we can with the space we’ve obtained all these decades. To last but not least get this open and have a beneficial encounter for all our travellers is seriously remarkable for us.”

On Tuesday, some flights deplaned from the A Concourse into the new facility. In early May possibly, some flights arriving from the S Concourse will deplane to the facility by using an aerial walkway, and starting up May well 10, all intercontinental arrivals will benefit from the IAF. 

As significantly as layout, Cooper stated shoppers can expect significant modifications. 

“The change in what people will see heading into customs is unbelievably spectacular,” he claimed. “The No. 1 issue they are going to see is how a great deal room there is — it is a lot more than four occasions the size of the outdated place. If you have been here in advance of and you have been by way of the old, cramped house from the 1970s, it is like strolling into the present day working day.”

The facility had a non-public reveal in March. In the coming weeks, the airport will exam all functions prior to total opening. Over-all, the airport says, travelers can hope shorter wait around periods, a lot more worldwide-able gates, new amenities (far more restrooms, a pet aid spot and a nursing suite), and, hopefully, faster clearance by customs.

The 450,000-sq.-foot facility streamlines arrivals in quite a few techniques, mainly by removing the need for a prepare trip. Previously, travellers arriving on an international flight went by means of customs command in the South Satellite, picked up their bags, then went by way of security once again connecting travellers went by way of another security checkpoint, although Seattle-bound travelers dropped off most of their baggage to consider a prepare to the main terminal, exactly where they picked them up a closing time in advance of leaving the airport. 

Seattle will be the 1st significant airport to put into action Customs and Border Protection’s “Bag First” course of action, in which tourists will decide on up their luggage before going to passport manage. From there, connecting travellers will go via a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint to go on their travels even though people whose trip ends in Seattle will go immediately into the primary terminal arrivals hall.

A window-lined pedestrian bridge spanning 780 toes — for a longer time than the House Needle is tall — will feed vacationers from the S Concourse throughout the major of the A Concourse to the Grand Hall of the IAF. The escalator technique made use of to get to the walkway is 1 of the 10 longest in the U.S. (such as other airports, malls and subway stations), stretching 191 toes with 80 toes of rise.

Passenger potential will more than double, to 2,600 vacationers per hour, and baggage assert devices will company close to triple their prior quantity. The new design and style brings the quantity of accessible worldwide gates from 12 to 20 by making eight current gates available for the two domestic and international flights. These gates join to a new security corridor for intercontinental arrivals, granting direct accessibility to the IAF.

“A big thing in the market is ‘connection time,’” Cooper said, referencing the time among landing and connection to your up coming flight’s gate. “Our intention is to lower the minimum relationship time from 90 to 75 minutes.”

From an aesthetic perspective, the new facility’s design and style welcomes the world in decidedly Northwest type. The Grand Corridor grants views of Mount Rainier as natural gentle shines as a result of floor-to-ceiling home windows highlighting perform by Indigenous artists. The environmentally friendly design satisfies LEED v4 certification technical specs from the U.S. Environmentally friendly Setting up Council, and stained Douglas fir wraps the portals on both finish of the facility. 

The new facility at Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport would seem like a great spot to expend a layover. The airport is hoping you agree — but that you really don’t have to wait around much too very long.