SEA braces for post-Thanksgiving travel with 180,000 passengers expected
Nov 30, 2025, 7:41 AM
Crowds form at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Thanksgiving may be over, but the busy travel days are not. The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) reports two of its busiest travel days are still ahead.
180,000 people are set to travel through the airport on Sunday, the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Monday will see nearly as many people as well.
“You come here, and it’s absolute chaos,” Jeff Christofferson, a traveler flying to Montana on Saturday, said. “Throw in some construction, and it gets interesting.”
Christofferson and his family carefully planned their arrival and departure from SEA. A key part of their plans included avoiding the peak travel days of Wednesday, Sunday and Monday.
“It’s typically safer to navigate outside of those heavy traffic times,” he said.
Their strategy was a common one.
“We were sort of anticipating it, that’s why we sort of didn’t want to come out on Sunday and came home on Saturday,” Maurice Sands, who returned to Seattle from Boston Monday, said. “You know, everything worked out. Thankful for that.”
The huge crowds around Thanksgiving and Christmas are times that put SEA’s team to the test.
“Well, this is what it’s all about,” Perry Cooper, an airport spokesperson, said. “Everybody’s been focused on customer service.”
SEA recommends arriving at least two hours before your flight and recommends avoiding dropoffs during peak hours if possible. The peak hours include:
- Before 9 a.m.
- 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
- 9 p.m.-11 p.m.
SEA is offering 90 minutes of free parking in its garage in an effort to avoid backups outside the terminals.
