Record travel at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport during Thanksgiving weekend

Ranji Sinha
·2 min read

Holiday travel for Thanksgiving weekend was record-setting, according to the TSA.

Monday morning Seattle Tacoma International Airport was slammed with people trying to get home or get away after this holiday weekend.

Anyone who felt like the lines were long and the crowds were bigger was not imagining things.

“I picked up my bags at 11:30 and I’ve been sleeping back and forth on the chair there, " said Eileen Chavelson, as she camped out above one of the main TSA checkpoints at SEA.

She’s stuck after missing her bus back to Bellingham.

“From 12-2, it was quiet you could hear a pin drop... And then 3 o’clock (AM) everybody showed up and I don’t know why – taking off all of a sudden, early flights I guess,” Chavelson said.

SEA’s forecasts for this weekend were eclipsed by some gaudy numbers including 171,000 people going through the airport Sunday.

The slow shuffle to get home or get somewhere put Ryan Barnett among the 164,000 traveling through SEA today.

“I don’t travel much so it is a lot of people,” Barnett said.

Unlike most, Barnett is traveling for business. With fog engulfing SEA Monday morning he’s hoping he can get out.

At 8:30 AM, FlightAware, the flight tracking website, said SEA had 44 delays and 4 cancellations.

It’s been so busy at the curbs that SEA extended a promotion from the weekend into Monday that provides up to 90 minutes of free parking in the garage for people wanting to avoid the traffic tie-ups at the curbside.

SEA even highlighted the program in a video and said It’s effective from 8 p.m. to midnight, the busiest time for traffic.

“You can pick up your party in the terminal, bring them back, and get out with free parking for 90 minutes but it’s based on availability in case we get really really busy,” the video stated.

The Port of Seattle released updated travel numbers for the Thanksgiving Weekend and they broke down as follows:

  • Wed., Nov 22 – 175,000, overall going through the airport (arriving, departing, and connecting).

  • Sun., Nov 26 – 171,000.

  • Sat., Nov 25 – 167,000.

  • Tues., Nov 21 & Mon Nov 27 – 164,000.

That beat the volume forecasts for Thanksgiving the port was anticipating heading into the Holiday weekend:

  • November 22: 156,000 travelers departing, arriving, and connecting.

  • November 26: 158,000 travelers departing, arriving, and connecting.

  • November 27: 148,000 travelers departing, arriving, and connecting.