Seattle: Labor Day holiday passenger numbers are expected to be 10 per cent higher than in 2021 — that’s about 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels from 2019. Volumes in August have been ahead of July with a projection of about 4.7 million passengers for the month (compared to nearly 4.6 million for July). Through July, overall passenger traffic for 2022 reached 25.4 million, down 13.8 per cent from 2019 levels (29.5 million), but up 37% from 2021 (18.5 million).

A couple of additional interesting facts in the numbers:

1. International travel is rebounding at SEA with more services available now than before the pandemic. This year new airlines (Turkish Airlines, Finnair, and Tahiti Nui in October) and new destinations (Edmonton/Alaska Airlines, Montreal/Air Canada) have been added, bringing a total of 45 international services to 28 destinations by 25 airlines this fall.

2. European travel recovered to 100% of 2019 levels in July.

3. Mexico/Central America services grew 263% in July versus 2019.

4. All China services have yet to resume due to pandemic restrictions.

The busiest days are expected to be Friday, September 2, with a forecasted 155,000 passengers travelling through the airport (departing, arriving, and connecting). The next busiest will be Thursday, September 1, projecting 149,000 overall passengers through the airport, followed by Monday, September 5 with a projected 146,000 travellers through the airport. Pre-pandemic passenger numbers reached as high as 185,000 per day during Labor Day weekend in 2019. Overall, the busiest days to travel are Thursdays and Fridays as well as Sundays and Mondays, with TSA security checkpoints busiest at SEA from 5 – 10 a.m., 2 – 5 p.m., and 9 -11 p.m. 

SEA’s latest forecasts of passenger numbers for 2022 will be about 10% below 2019 levels with 2023 down 3% returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.