Dozens of flights delayed at SEA as snow prompts another ground stop
Mar 13, 2026, 12:40 PM | Updated: 3:40 pm
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Winter weather is impacting operations at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop for arriving flights to SEA due to snow and ice. The ground stop will be in place until 1:30 p.m.
The airport has been under ground stops for arrivals on and off all morning.
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How SEA manages arriving traffic
“There’s been ground stops at various times this morning for arriving traffic. This is how the air traffic control meters aircraft into SEA,” SEA spokesperson Perry Cooper told KIRO Newsradio via email.
Cooper explained how the process works.
“They stop aircraft scheduled to come here before they take off, stopping them on the ground at their origination airport, like SFO or LAX, etc., with weather and low visibility, they space out aircraft landings for safety and cannot get as many aircraft into the airport,” he said. “So, the ground stop helps slow down the traffic to space it out until things get more cleared out.”
Weather and low visibility have forced air traffic controllers to space out landings.
KIRO Newsradio has also received reports from people who have been sitting on the tarmac while de-icing takes place, waiting to take off.
One person posted on X that they had been waiting on the tarmac in Seattle for four hours.
Hey @AlaskaAir we’ve been on the tarmac in Seattle for almost 4 hours with no update. They don’t have a gate for us. Our plane is just driving around in circles. We missed our connection to Tokyo. Any guidance would be appreciated.
— Jen G. (@vegasstarfish) March 13, 2026
Alaska Airlines responded to the post, stating that crews were working to get the plane on the ground and de-iced.
Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest
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