Seattle-Tacoma International is one of the largest airports in the USparticularly internationally. This positioning is due in particular to the presence of Boeing, Amazon and Microsoft in the city's greater metropolitan area, which attracts business people and international travellers.
In 2019the airport welcomed 51.8 million passengers including almost 12% on international routes. Although traffic has fallen back to 36.15 million passengers in 2021 - after a low of 20.1 million in 2020 - the number of international passengers has risen to 1.67 million in 2021.
Passenger traffic in 2022 close to 2019 levels
The signs are encouraging, with a strong upturn in international traffic. The airport authorities are already forecasting a a figure equivalent to 95% of the number of visitors in 2019 this year.
On the international front, eight new international services, including five new airlines, have been launched or announced at SEA over the past two years, despite the pandemic. These include Qatar Airways to Doha, Alaska Airlines to Belize, American Airlines to London Heathrow and WestJet to Calgary.
Other carriers are expected to follow for the rest of the year. On 27 May, Turkish Airlines begins its flights from Istanbul with 4 flights a week by 300-seat Boeing 787-9. Finnair will launch flights from Helsinki whileAir Canada will offer connections on Montréal. The two carriers will land in Seattle in June.
Finally, a second French company will be setting out to conquer Seattle in October. Air Tahiti Nui launched October two weekly flights from Papeete by Boeing 787-9. Air France also serves Seattle from CDG with three weekly flights.
New infrastructure for international routes
All in all, the number of international flights from Seattle will reach 44 daily services this autumn, compared with 37 at the start of the year and 42 in 2019. 25 international airlines now land or take off from the airport.
To better welcome international travellers, the airport has just inaugurated a new international arrivals hall. The infrastructure of the International Arrivals Facility considerably improves connection times, efficiency and service for international travellers.
The IAF practically doubles the number of international gates. From 12 to 20for a treatment capacity of 2,600 passengers per hour. The latest passport control technologies are also speeding up entry into the US. Baggage delivery is faster thanks to a greater number of carousels, increased from four to seven. Last but not least, the minimum connection time for passengers is reduced from 90 to 75 minutes.
The only thing Seattle still lacks is traffic to Asiaa very important segment for the platform. But here too, the recovery is taking shape with the reopening of the continent.
