SEATAC, Wash. — Seattle is a top domestic travel destination for Labor Day Weekend, according to AAA.
Monday is projected to be the busiest travel day of the holiday weekend at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A total of 190,000 people are expected to travel through the airport Monday, according to the Port of Seattle. That includes departures, arrivals and connecting flights.
Travel on Labor Day Weekend is projected to be up 22% from last year at the airport.
Monday morning wait times ranged from 15 to 25 minutes at general screening security checkpoints.
The Port of Seattle said security checkpoints can become congested because of the relatively small footprint of the terminal.
“The space in front of our largest checkpoint, 3, is about 7,000 square feet. At other airports, that might be their smallest checkpoint,” the Port of Seattle explained on its website. “For example, Las Vegas has 20,000 to 30,000 square feet of space for its largest checkpoints, and it has about the same amount of annual passenger volume.”
The Port of Seattle said it added more staff this summer, including more full-time pathfinders. Pathfinders manage the security lines at the checkpoints.
2023 summer travel is nearly equal to 2019 at Sea-Tac, according to the Port of Seattle.
Anyone planning to drive down to Sea-Tac Monday through Seattle should expect significant delays on southbound Interstate 5. The freeway remains blocked as of 9 a.m. after a multi-car collision early in the morning left 7 people injured, and one driver was taken into custody on suspicion of impairment.