Air travel continues to grow. Airports do what they can to have as many flights as possible, in order to keep up with the flow of passengers who want to fly. But eventually an airport’s “dance card” is full and there’s just no more room.
Some airports’ response to that is to add to the terminals they already have. A terminal with 24 gates today might have 36 gates tomorrow. But other airports look to build an entirely new terminal. That’s what Seattle–Tacoma International Airport is looking at right now.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently completed and approved the federal environmental assessment for a series of expansion projects at SEA, all part of its Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP).
According to the Port of Seattle, the proposed 31 projects are focused on safety and efficiency. However, one of the largest projects that’s up for consideration is to build a new terminal — it would be the airport’s second.
The new terminal would be located north of the current building near the Doug Fox parking lot. It would have 19 gates and cover roughly 575,000 square feet. It would include a three-level concourse with check-in, baggage claim, security screening, as well as a mix of restaurants and shops. Plans call for a skybridge linking the new facility to the N Concourse after security and a new multi-level parking garage with about 1,350 spaces.
Why now?
Like many other airports, the number of passengers at SEA continues to grow. The airport served a record 52.6 million passengers in 2024, which easily surpassed pre-pandemic levels. They’re expecting 56 million by 2032. The influx of passengers is straining facilities that were originally built for smaller volumes and significantly less international flights.
What’s next?
The Port of Seattle plans to complete a state-level environmental review of the projects by the end of 2026.
Looking toward the future
Officials describe these updates as the largest and likely final major capacity increase within the airport’s current footprint. They suggest the region is nearing the limits of what the SEA site can accommodate without more radical change.
So, once SEA has its new terminal in 2032, that’ll be about it, save for some operational tweaks here and there. If needed, it sounds like an entire new facility would be in the cards in the more distant future.
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