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Sea-Tac Airport expecting Monday to be busiest day since COVID-19 pandemic

TSA is recommending travelers arrive early before their flight departure times and be prepared for the security screening process.

SEATAC, Wash. — Transportation officials are anticipating Monday will be the busiest day at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) security checkpoints since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pre-pandemic high for U.S travelers was 2.79 million people passing through security checkpoints on May 20, 2019, according to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint travel numbers over the last four years. 

The highest post-pandemic traveling date was June 17 when transportation officials reported 2.44 million people passing through U.S. security checkpoints. 

The busiest times of day at the security checkpoints are generally 5-7 a.m., 9-11 a.m., and 4-6 p.m, according to TSA.

TSA is recommending travelers arrive early before their flight departure times and be prepared for the security screening process.

TSA recommends travelers to consider checking luggage, checking for prohibited items at checkpoints, empty pockets prior to security checks and making sure gels, liquids and aerosols are limited to 3.4 ounces in carry-on luggage 

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Travelers dealt with major headaches at the airport for three days as thousands of flights across the country were delayed and hundreds canceled over the weekend.

Sea-Tac International Airport reported 20 cancellations and more than 154 delays on Saturday. 

There are 17 canceled arriving flights and 13 departing flights as of Monday morning, according to Sea-Tac's flight tracking. 

Experts said you could be seeing more delays and cancellations this summer as the pandemic, staffing shortages and high demand make for the perfect storm. 

Traffic has slowly been creeping up at the airport since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Numbers released by the TSA show that on the Friday before Memorial Day, more than 2.3 million travelers passed through checkpoints nationwide, approaching a 25% increase.

Officials with the Port of Seattle were anticipating about 80% of pre-pandemic numbers from Memorial Day weekend, which is typically the unofficial start to the summer travel season.

More than 2.2 million travelers a day on average have gone through security checkpoints at U.S. airports since June. That's up 22% from a year ago, but still down 13% from the same period before the pandemic.  

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