Ground delay at SEA Airport after thunderstorms hit the region
Jul 16, 2026, 11:13 AM | Updated: 5:11 pm
Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 airliners sit on the tarmac at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Photo: Stephen Brashear, Getty Images)
(Photo: Stephen Brashear, Getty Images)
A ground delay has been issued for flights arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after thunderstorms swept through the region Thursday. The delay replaced an earlier ground stop.
In an update at 1:05 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the ground delay is expected to last until 10:59 p.m.
The FAA issued its latest ground stop at 11:13 a.m., minutes after it was previously reopened at 10:50 a.m. The FAA issued its initial ground stop at 9:45 a.m. and was scheduled to remain in place until at least 11:15 a.m.
At the time of the first ground stop, there was a 30 to 60% chance that it would be extended past its scheduled opening.
SEA ground stop impacts flights from several regions across the U.S., Canada
The ground stop impacted departures heading toward Seattle from three regional air traffic control zones in the U.S., as well as Canada, including:
- Salt Lake Center, UT (SLC)
- Oakland Center, CA (ZOA)
- Seattle Center, WA (ZSE)
- Edmonton, Canada (CYEG)
- Vancouver, Canada (CYVR)
- Calgary, Canada (CYYC)
- Victoria, Canada (CYYJ)
- Kelowna, Canada (CYLW)
In addition to the inbound flights being grounded, flights departing from SEA are experiencing average delay times of roughly 65 minutes. However, federal officials have said delays were increasing, according to FOX 13.
The FAA noted the delayed departures coincide with weather-related reroutes and mitigation restrictions.
SEA is currently operating with an arrival rate of 42 flights per hour, and is using runways 16R and 16L for arrivals, while runways 16C and 16L are handling departures.
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Stormy weather causes issues inside SEA terminal
Amid the ever-changing stoppages, delays, and reopenings, SEA suffered through a breakage in its ceiling that allowed water to pour into the B Concourse.
Footage of the incident showed rainwater spilling from the ceiling onto airport seating and into buckets set out to collect the water near one of the gates.
Travelers were previously seen sitting in the same area, but quickly moved away as the rainwater breached the airport’s ceiling, according to FOX 13.
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