SEATAC, Wash. — The first nonstop service to the Chinese capital since the COVID-19 pandemic resumed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA Airport) on Tuesday.
As government restrictions loosened between the United States and China, Hainan Airlines resumed flights to Beijing's Capital International Airport.
SEA Airport has 48 international services, surpassing its pre-pandemic total of 42. According to a release, SEA Airport had more international passengers in 2023 compared to 2019.
SEA Airport offers service to 31 international destinations on 26 different airlines, including the new route to Beijing. The airport said its international reach has grown in 2024, after adding service to Edmonton, Paris and Bahamas last year.
International service to Toronto, Munich and Taipei were announced in 2024, according to the airport's release. The Toronto route, via Alaska Airlines, and service to Munich, Germany, via Lufthansa, will be available starting in May. In June, Delta Air Lines will have a route to Taipei, China. China Airlines and Starlux Airlines will also offer service to Taipei before fall 2024.
SEA opened its new international terminal in April 2022 after nearly five years of construction. The new terminal nearly doubled the airport’s international flight capacity, expanding it from 12 gates to 20.
The old facility, which was located in the south satellite terminal, could only process about 1,200 passengers per hour, but the new terminal more than doubles that, with the ability to process 2,600 passengers every hour.
The international terminal, complete with new baggage carousels and windows letting in natural light, is marked by the 85-foot-high sky bridge to the south satellite. The walkway was built high enough to allow a Boeing 747 beneath it, taking passengers over the ramp with a moving sidewalk, elevators and escalators.
It cost $986 million to build the international terminal. The airport had nine straight years of record passenger growth before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
You can visit SEA Airport's International Travel page for more tips and information on navigating SEA and the International Arrivals Facility.