Seattle-Tacoma International Airport expects busiest holiday travel day Tuesday
Dec 23, 2025, 7:01 AM | Updated: 7:01 am
Travelers wait in line at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is expecting Tuesday to be this year’s busiest day of the Christmas travel season.
The airport is expecting approximately 159,000 passengers to go through SEA Tuesday. The next busiest day will be Friday, the day after Christmas, with 157,000 expected fliers. In total, more than 2.5 million travelers are expected to pass through SEA between Dec. 18 and Jan. 4.
“Going to see our daughter, who is down in San Diego,” one traveler told KIRO 7. “She’s in the Navy, and her husband is actually deployed, so we want her to be with us.”
Dozens of flights have already been delayed, so check the status of your flight before you head out.
“We come at the crack of dawn and leave on the first flight,” a pair of travelers told KIRO 7 when sharing their strategy on navigating the heavy crowds.
Passenger traffic is expected to be up 3% from last year.
“Just plan to be early. You know, pack things ahead of time. Leave a little bit early,” travelers from Everett told KIRO 7. “We drove from Everett, but traffic was pretty light. I was pretty surprised. I think most people are taking the week off, and so it took us like 40 minutes to get down to SEA.”
Contributing: KIRO 7
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