Introduction
Seattle Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) is the main airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area Washington state including Federal Way. It is the largest airport in the Northwest region of North America and is located about 13 miles south of Seattle. The Sea-Tac airport is among the top 10 busiest in the United States.
History
In 1944 after the US military took over the Boeing Field in World War II, the airport was built by the Port of Seattle. They were given $1 million from the Civil Aeronautics Administration and then received $100,000 from the city of Tacoma. In June 1951, the airport had 4 runways, some were lengthened and expanded while others were removed completely. At some point, those living around the airport complained of the noise. In response, the Port of Seattle spent over $100 million to building and soundproofing buildings. After the death of US Senator Henry Jackson in 1983, the name of the airport was changed to Henry M Jackson international airport. However, citizens around the area opposed the name change, and the name returned to Sea-Tac. On November 20, 2008, an additional runway was added to the airport leading its new expansion.
Terminals
The airport has a main terminal and two other satellite terminals. The main terminal is arranged in an X-like shape and has four concourses. There is a central terminal that contains many restaurants and retail stores. The airport has 5 security checkpoints at the central terminals. The main terminal building contains the central terminal and four concourses with their number of gates. The two satellite terminals are named the North and South Terminal. The South Terminal handles international flights. While the North satellite terminal has 10 gates, and 3 parking slips while the south satellite terminal has 14 gates, 1 parking slip, and US custom and border protection facility for international flights. In addition, the airport has a people mover system which is a three line system called Satellite Transit System. The people mover system is connected to the four concourses in the main terminal. This system is underground and is used to move passengers out to the North and South satellite terminals.
Parking
The airport offers paid onsite parking. It is a 13,000 space garage and is regarded as the largest underground parking space in North America.
Transportation
Seattle’s central link light rail line offers services to downtown Seattle and the University of Washington. It is connected to the airport via a pedestrian bridge. There is another pedestrian bridge across international boulevard. King County Metro bus system and sound transit offer a regional express bus to the airport but there are other shuttle services and airport bus services. There are many attractions close to the airport such as The Pacific Bonsai Museum.
