 64 SEA Airport | ||||||||||||||||
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 The station viewed fromInternational Boulevard, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | International Blvd & South 176th Street SeaTac, Washington United States | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 47°26′43″N122°17′49″W / 47.44528°N 122.29694°W /47.44528; -122.29694 | |||||||||||||||
| System | Link light rail station | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Sound Transit | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1island platform | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Connections | King County Metro (RapidRide),Sound Transit Express | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | Paid parking nearby,kiss and ride facility | |||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Lockers | |||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | December 19, 2009 (2009-12-19) | |||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||
| 7,629 daily weekday boardings (2024)[1] 2,669,768 total boardings (2024)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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SEA Airport station is alight railstation inSeaTac, Washington, servingSeattle–Tacoma International Airport. It is on the1 Line betweenAngle Lake andTukwila International Boulevard stations. The line, part ofSound Transit'sLink light rail system, runs north fromSeaTac through theRainier Valley toDowntown Seattle and theUniversity of Washington. The station consists of an elevatedisland platform east of the terminals and parking garage of the airport.
SeaTac/Airport station opened on December 19, 2009, several months after the rest of the Central Link stations. Until the opening of Angle Lake station in 2016, it served as the line's southern terminus. Trains serve the station twenty hours a day on most days; theheadway between trains is six minutes during peak periods, with less frequent service at other times. SeaTac/Airport station is also served by theRapidRide A Line, twoSound Transit Express bus routes and twoKing County Metro bus routes.
SeaTac/Airport station is on the west side ofInternational Boulevard at South 176th Street, northeast of theSeattle–Tacoma International Airport main terminal and adjacent to the airport parking garage.[2] The area to the east of the station along International Boulevard consists primarily of hotels andairport parking lots, with some offices,multi-family housing andmobile home parks. Within a1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) radius of the station is a population of 4,024 residents and a total of 9,187 jobs.[3]
The area surrounding SeaTac/Airport station is designated as a Regional Growth Center by thePuget Sound Regional Council and is zoned to support mid- and high-rise buildings.[4][5] The SeaTac City Council adopted a station area action plan in 2006 that called formixed-use development in a pedestrian-friendly environment adjacent to the station. The plan proposes residential uses as well as neighborhood-oriented hospitality services and commercial offices near an "entertainment district" with open spaces for public gatherings.[6] In late 2009, the city placed a moratorium on new development near the station after a controversy over the use ofeminent domain related to the entertainment district plan. After thelate 2000s recession and subsequent shortfalls in tax revenue, the entertainment district plan was dropped entirely in June 2010 by the city council.[7][8]
The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport was built in 1944 and began commercial service in 1947.[9] During the airport's first major expansion in the 1960s, provisions were made to build facilities for "some form ofrapid transit".[10] ThePort of Seattle, a government agency that operates the airport, studied a rapid transit system between downtown and the airport in the 1960s, but took no further action.[11]
After the1962 World's Fair and introduction of theSeattle Center Monorail, a proposal was drawn up by fair organizers to extend the system to the airport.[12] The plan, supported byGovernorAlbert D. Rosellini, was ultimately rejected by incoming GovernorDaniel J. Evans in favor of completingInterstate 5.[13] TheForward Thrust rapid transit plan, which was rejected by voters in 1968 and 1970, included Sea-Tac Airport in its long-term plans for service; the airport was excluded from the first phase because of possible changes brought by airport expansion and theSupersonic Transport program.[14][15]
TheMunicipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro) began operating bus service inKing County in 1973, including regular bus service to the airport fromDowntown Seattle on routes 174 and 194.[16] A 1986 study from thePuget Sound Council of Governments and Metro recommended the construction of alight rail system betweenFederal Way andLynnwood serving the airport and Downtown Seattle.[17][18] A regionaltransit authority (RTA) was formed in the early 1990s to study a regional light rail system, first proposing a $6.7 billion plan in 1995 with service to Sea-Tac Airport via International Boulevard.[19] The proposal was rejected by voters in March 1995,[20] leading to a smaller, $3.9 billion proposal approved by voters the following year, with stations at the airport andSouth 200th Street.[20][21][22]
The RTA, later renamed toSound Transit, began planning the routing of the light rail line and placement of stations in 1998. Sound Transit and the Port of Seattle requested that the line be routed along International Boulevard to serve the airport's hotel area, while other officials from the city of SeaTac favored a station inside the current Sea-Tac Airport terminal to the west.[23][24] Sound Transit selected their preferred route for the light rail line in 1999, choosing to serve the Port of Seattle's planned North End Airport Terminal, a multi-modal facility with a direct connection to the airport'sSatellite Transit System, and a potential station at South 184th Street to serve the city center.[25][26][27]
The light rail project exceeded its budget in 2001, leading to Sound Transit truncating the line atSouth 154th Street in Tukwila, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the airport, where shuttle buses would pick up passengers headed for the airport terminal.[28] Sound Transit adopted the new terminus in November 2001, allowing for construction to begin on the light rail system, while also authorizing a plan to extend light rail to the airport by 2009.[29][30] The North End Airport Terminal, originally scheduled to open in 2002,[31] was shelved after theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent fall in air travel.[32][33] A new alignment along International Boulevard with a station on the east side of the airport's existingparking garage was proposed, but Sound Transit estimated that it would not have enough funds to extend light rail to the airport until 2015.[32][34]
On January 15, 2003, Sound Transit and the Port of Seattle signed anagreement in principle to develop a plan for light rail expansion to the airport. The agreement envisioned a light rail station along International Boulevard near South 175th Street connected to the airport's terminal via the existing parking garage, with enhanced pedestrian connections and connections to a future hotel at the north end of the garage.[35][36] The two agencies also agreed to work together on planning and engineering for the project, which would be built in conjunction with a realignment of the Airport Expressway.[37] The plan was finalized in December 2004, with an agreement to accelerate planning and construction in time for a December 2009 opening, in time for the2010 Winter Olympics held in nearbyVancouver, British Columbia.[38][39]
The $244 million light rail extension, named "Airport Link" was approved by the Sound Transit Board on July 14, 2005, along with a motion adopting "SeaTac/Airport" as the name of the project's lone station.[40][41] The agreement with the Port of Seattle relied on the addition of a third lane toState Route 518 in order to remove the return to terminal ramps at the airport, where the new light rail station would be built.[42] In 2005,Southwest Airlines threatened to move toBoeing Field, leading the Port of Seattle to consider scrapping the necessary freeway improvements that would allow light rail tracks to be laid to the airport, jeopardizing the project.[43]King County ExecutiveRon Sims rejected Southwest's proposal in October 2005, alongside an additional proposal fromAlaska Airlines,[44] and the Port resumed planning for light rail service.[45] The Port of Seattle signed amemorandum of agreement with Sound Transit on April 11, 2006, approving the use of Port property for the project.[46][47]
On September 22, 2006, Sound Transit and the Port of Seattle broke ground on the Airport Link extension, beginning three years of light rail and roadway construction.[48][49] The airport's return-to-terminal ramps were closed for demolition in October, clearing the site of the future station.[50] Construction of the SeaTac/Airport light rail station was bid out to Mowat Construction for $35.8 million in July 2007; the initial bid in March was set above Sound Transit's estimates at $95.3 million by Mowat, the sole bidder, and subsequently reduced the scope of the contract and removed elements of the station to bring costs down.[51][52] A second contract signed with Mowat in February 2008 brought the total cost of the station's construction to $72 million.[53] The 1.7-mile-long (2.7 km) light rail guideway approaching the station would be built byPCL Construction as $38 million addition to their contract to build the guideway inTukwila.[54]
Link light rail service from Downtown Seattle toTukwila International Boulevard station began on July 18, 2009, accompanied by a temporaryshuttle bus to bring passengers to the airport from Tukwila.[55][56] SeaTac/Airport station opened to regular service on December 19, 2009, during aribbon-cutting ceremony attended by 500 people, including U.S. RepresentativeJim McDermott of Seattle, Sound Transit Board ChairGreg Nickels and Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton.[57][58] Initial ridership counts in January 2010 showed that the station increased light rail ridership by 2,000 passengers during its first month of service, coinciding with the holiday travel system.[59] SeaTac/Airport station would serve as the southern terminus of the Link light rail system until the opening ofAngle Lake station on September 24, 2016.[60]
On January 28, 2017, amidprotests at Sea-Tac Airport against the signing ofExecutive Order 13769 from PresidentDonald Trump, the station was shut down by Sound Transit at the request of Port of Seattle security.[61] The 30-minute shutdown was criticized by the media and King County ExecutiveDow Constantine as an attempt to hamper protesters' freedom of speech and right to free assembly.[62] Service was resumed at the direction of Sound Transit CEOPeter Rogoff, and the following week Sound Transit and King County Metro formalized a new protocol requiring future requests from law enforcement to suspend service be approved by the CEO or general manager.[63]
A second elevator at the east end of the pedestrian bridge over International Boulevard is planned to be constructed in early 2025.[64]
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SeaTac/Airport station consists of a singleisland platform elevated 60 feet (18 m), connected to amezzanine level by a series of escalators and elevators.[65] The station was designed by thearchitectural firm of David Hewitt and emphasizes a theme of flight. The roof features a series of steeltrusses, similar in design to Tukwila International Boulevard station, that cover the platform and leave it unobstructed by support columns.[66][67] At the mezzanine level areticket vending machines, seating, publicrestrooms, aflight information screen,[68] and aSmarte Carte dispenser for luggage carts.[65] The mezzanine has connections to twopedestrian bridges: the west bridge connects to the fourth level of the airport parking garage, where a 1,200-foot (370 m) covered walkway leads to the main terminal;[69] the east bridge crosses the Airport Expressway and leads to a plaza on International Boulevard withpublic art, akiss and ride and a bus station.[65][70] The station also has space for 24 bicycles in asecured locker.[71]
Some elements of the station, including the size of internal support structures, the amount of glass panels, and the width of the roof, were eliminated or reduced to save $20 million in construction costs.[72] Amoving walkway to connect the station was considered and rejected because of engineering difficulties, including low ceilings in the garage and weight issues.[73] In 2017, the Port of Seattle began a $3.5 million capital program to improve the walk from the station to the terminal by installingwindscreens and adding a cart shuttle service.[74] The cart shuttles carried up to 1,200 people per day in 2019;[69] aself-driving shuttle with speeds limited to 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h) launched as a pilot project in August 2025.[75] The Port of Seattle's long-term master plan for the airport includes a new ground transportation center to replace part of the parking garage and include an indoor connection.[73]
SeaTac/Airport station also houses threeart installations as part of the "STart" program, which allocates a percentage of project construction funds to art projects to be used in stations.[76]
Werner Klotz'sFlying Sails, a pair ofabstract sails made ofstainless steel, sits suspended above the escalators connecting the mezzanine to the platform. The 35-foot-tall (11 m) sails consist of wind-activated panels etched with the names of Northwest Native American tribes on the northern sails and cities around the globe at the samelatitude orlongitude as Seattle on the southern sails. Hanging above the east pedestrian bridge to International Boulevard is a 160-foot-long (49 m) steel truss. The piece, namedRestless by Christian Moeller, has twelve rotatingbird control spikes, inspired by the emergency water landing ofUS Airways Flight 1549 in 2009. Fernanda D'Agostino'sCelestrial Navigation, a 18-foot-tall (5.5 m) glass and metal sculpture of anavigational quadrant, sits in the International Boulevard plaza. The piece sits on a pedestal of rusticterrazzo and features a looping, hour-long video projected to the quadrant.[77][78]
Thepictogram formerly assigned to the station depicted amagic carpet to represent the "magic, mystery and delight of flight" while also referencing the city of SeaTac's adoptedslogan, the "Hospitality City".[79] It was created by Christian French as part of theStellar Connections series and its points represented nearby destinations, including the airport, civic buildings,Tyee High School,Angle Lake and Bow Lake Park.[80][81] The pictogram series was retired in 2024 and replaced bystation numbers.[82]
SEA Airport station is part of Sound Transit's 1 Line, which runs from betweenLynnwood, theUniversity of Washington campus, Downtown Seattle, theRainier Valley, Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, andFederal Way. It is the twenty-first southbound station fromLynnwood City Center and fourth northbound station fromFederal Way Downtown; SeaTac/Airport is situated south ofRainier Beach station. Trains serve the station twenty hours a day on weekdays and Saturdays, from 5:00 am to 1:00 am, and eighteen hours on Sundays, from 6:00 am to 12:00 am; during regular weekday service, trains operate roughly every eight to ten minutes duringrush hour and midday operation, respectively, with longerheadways of twelve to fifteen minutes in the early morning and at night. During weekends, Link trains arrive at SeaTac/Airport station every ten minutes during midday hours and every twelve to fifteen minutes during mornings and evenings. The station is approximately 69 minutes from Lynnwood City Center station, 37 minutes fromWestlake station in Downtown Seattle, and 4 minutes from Angle Lake station.[83] In 2023, an average of 2,332 passengers boarded Link trains at SeaTac/Airport station on weekdays.[1]
The station is also served by five bus routes using a pair of bus stops on International Boulevard to the east of the station.King County Metro operates three routes from the station: theRapidRide A Line, which continues north to Tukwila International Boulevard station and south toFederal Way Transit Center; route 156, which connects toSouthcenter Mall,Des Moines andHighline College; and route 161, which connects toBurien andKent.[84] Sound Transit runs twoexpress bus routes to the station and airport terminal: route 560, which travels toWest Seattle, Burien,Renton andBellevue; and route 574, which travels south toTacoma andLakewood inPierce County.[85][86]
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