The drop in wait times comes as the Transportation Security Administration continues to simplify its screening process
SEATAC, Wash. — Seattle-Tacoma International Airport says it has cut wait times at security checkpoints even as record numbers of travelers pass through the airport this summer.
Airport officials reported average waits of 10 to 15 minutes over Labor Day weekend, with no line longer than 20 minutes. Year to date, 99% of passengers have cleared security in under 30 minutes, compared with 94% in 2024 and 80% in 2023.
The drop in wait times comes as the Transportation Security Administration continues to simplify its screening process. In July, TSA began allowing passengers to keep their shoes on during security checks. Federal officials also said they are reviewing the longstanding restrictions on liquids, though the agency told KING 5 it is not ready to announce a change.
Whether those changes are driving shorter waits at SEA remains unclear. It’s too early to say, an airport spokesperson said.
SEA has invested heavily in its own infrastructure to ease congestion. In June, the airport opened a new checkpoint with five additional security lanes. Another redesigned checkpoint on the north end of the terminal is scheduled to reopen before Thanksgiving with six new lanes.
At the same time, TSA has launched a pilot program to speed international travel. The program allows passengers arriving from certain foreign airports to bypass re-screening by TSA when connecting to domestic flights. The pilot currently applies only to flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. SEA is not part of the initial rollout.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is rethinking “everything TSA does.”
“Hopefully, the future of an airport, where I’m looking to go, is that you walk in the door with your carry-on suitcase, you walk through a scanner and go right to your plane,” she said in July. “It takes you one minute.”
SEA has already set three new records this summer for its busiest day ever. Eight of the 10 busiest days in airport history have occurred since June, including Aug. 10, when 78,763 passengers went through TSA checkpoints. Overall, 207,000 people traveled through the airport that day, including departures, arrivals and connections. Dates over Labor Day weekend were not among SEA’s 10 busiest days.
Looking ahead, SEA plans to handle 56 million passengers annually by 2032 with a new terminal that will include 19 gates.
Elsewhere in western Washington, Everett’s Paine Field Airport is pursuing its own expansion. A draft plan calls for 12 additional aircraft gates and a larger passenger terminal footprint, with related construction expected to take three to five years.
Editor’s note: KING 5 refers to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by its official name, SEA. The airport officially rebranded in 2020.
