Sea-Tac Airport passengers stuck in massive security lines
Jun 12, 2013, 4:40 PM | Updated: 5:00 pm
Alaska Airlines is warning passengers to expect lines of at least one hour long at Sea-Tac Airport security checkpoints. (Alaska Air via Twitter)
(Alaska Air via Twitter)
Those warnings about giving yourself plenty of time before your flight should definitely be heeded these days at Sea-Tac Airport, where travelers are facing massive security lines.
Passengers have been complaining on Twitter the last few days of waits up to 90 minutes long just to get through the checkpoints. Alaska Airlines posted a warning Wednesday to travelers, urging them to plan for at least an hour in line through 7:30 p.m.
While the lines seem unusual, Sea-Tac Airport spokesman Perry Cooper says it’s just the start of the summer travel season and there’s nothing out of the ordinary to blame.
“The summer has really kicked in here this week and from here on out until the end of August we will average about 100,000 people going through Sea-Tac Airport everyday,” Cooper says.
According to Cooper, lines tend to move slower in the summer because of the increase in inexperienced travelers who don’t know about the proper procedures and restrictions on things like liquids.
The airport is working with the TSA to try and speed the lines, including moving passengers from one checkpoint to another to spread the load around.
“If we’ve got a smaller line, we’ll shuttle them from one end of the airport to another,” he says.
But there’s only so much they can do, so the best advice is expect the worst and give yourself plenty of time before your flight.
