Seattle Airport

Customer Reviews

3 star Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 233 reviews
3/10
3 star Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"TSA lines were horribly inefficient"

(United States)

Not Verified | TSA lines were horribly inefficient and staff were incredibly rude and inhospitable. Treating all customers so rudely does nothing but add stress. The airport is a total disaster.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitMarch 2024
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

“avoid it like the plague”

(United Kingdom)

Not Verified | Such a dreadful experience. Long story short: DO NOT TRANSIT THROUGH THIS AIRPORT. Want details? Read on: I often travel in Africa, Europe and the USA, and I have transited through the USA- been through Denver, through JFK, through San Francisco, even Washington DC. In my 7 years of travelling across the US, never in my life have I ever faced an airport with such stupid processes, such laziness, such disorganization in my life! I booked a premium Virgin Atlantic flight to San Jose which had me transiting for the first time through Seattle. Layover time: 70 minutes on the ticket. At Heathrow, the check-in desk informed me I would need to pick up my bags then drop them off again. I thought nothing of it, thinking it would be a transit as usual. Now Virgin Atlantic even landed 25 minutes earlier, giving me 95 minutes to transit. Who created the baggage claim before passport control system? That team or person must be inhumane or just plain dumb. What happens to people who have connecting flights? It makes no sense. Took me 20 minutes to get to and claim my baggage (excellent job on Virgin Atlantic and the ground crew!) another 40 minutes through passport control, and 60 minutes through TSA. They had just one lane for hundreds of people transiting. Then after about 20 minutes someone with an iota of common sense opened another lane. Then the TSA agent opened my sealed Duty Free bag of champagne to test it, saying it flagged up on the system. After testing the glass bottle she then offered I check it in or abandon it because it could not go with me. I told her my flight left 5 minutes ago - she then had a physical malfunction. You could see it in her face. She did not know what to say. Then she had to pat me down, running through their bloody speech as you do. I was clear & vocal about my thoughts, my irritations, and my impressions of Seattle airport to any staff within earshot. That TSA agent was a robot. On the one side I felt for her, on the other I decided to put myself first too. Other passengers near me and even a couple of her colleagues were sympathetic and wondered why it needed checking when it was sealed. I should have gotten her name, but I was in a rush to get the next flight. I was not about to be stuck in this city for another moment more than necessary. My bag left with Virgin Atlantic. I missed my flight by 15 minutes. Got booked for the next flight which would have me landing in San Jose 90 minutes later than planned, and in economy. So now I have to call Virgin Atlantic for a refund of some sort and see if I can get my bottle of champagne refunded too. Now, my mind was rapidly sensitised to the mediocrity around me in that airport. When I got the boarding pass for the next flight, the agent told me to head to the gate. Finding the gate was a maze of a walk and a transit train too. When I got to the gate- I noticed the boarding pass did not have a seat number. Yeah, I had to think fast and speak to the air hostess at the counter; they had to reprint a new boarding pass! The agent did not even tell me about this. Jeez- the staff are so laid back it’s borderline unprofessional and quite frankly incompetent and inconsiderate at the barest minimum. In conclusion, if you must go through Seattle, have a layover of 4 hours at least- otherwise avoid it like the plague. This experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth. First world country my third world behind.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitJanuary 2024
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"all showed no concerns"

(United States)

Trip Verified | While waiting for our flight we noticed a bag that was by a table across from us that had been left unattended for about 40 minutes. Both my husband and I reported the unattended bag to four different United staff employees and even alerted a restaurant employee, all showed no concerns and not one person called a security person to check on the unattended bag. For all I know the bag is still sitting at gate A11. Just glad that nothing bad happened this time because as we all know TSA never misses anything in there screening process.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJanuary 2024
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"change to a ‘Bags first’ airport is a disaster"

(United Kingdom)

Not Verified | The change to a ‘Bags first’ airport is a disaster for any non-US citizen arriving on an international flight who hasn’t the benefit of pre-clearance at their point of departure. I arrived on the 22nd December and it took me over 2 hours from disembarking to getting outside to where a friend was collecting me. There was no obvious help for the elderly- it’s quite a trek to the escalator where you descend into the baggage hall. There was no help for anyone trying to make a connecting flight- I would never recommend that you book a connecting flight within 4 hours of arriving, and would suggest leaving it until the following day to be on the safe side. And you would have thought that at Christmas where there is a known spike in the number of people travelling that there would be more booths manned by Immigration Officials- but no that was not the case. And to have to listen to the never-ending message over the tannoy welcoming us to Seattle, was like adding insult to injury. I flew with Icelandair which I would thoroughly recommend, but for the future I’ll be flying Aer Lingus as I can pre-clear in Dublin, as I simply will not put myself through that endurance test again. It was shocking. In this day and age there must surely be a better and quicker way to screen international arrivals at SeaTac. If I had the chance I would award the Airport a Zero.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitDecember 2023
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"wasteland of an airport"

(United States)

Not Verified | I have flown to or thru every major US. Airports and a handful of foreign ones. SeaTac is in the top 3 worst airports. It does not handle large amounts of passengers well. It is not laid out for easy transition from ticketing to boarding. TSA screening areas are a joke. It took 45 minutes to get thru that process. They barely can handle 100 passengers not a thousand. The satellite rental car location is at least 10 minutes shuttle ride to terminal. Suggest allowing extra time to navigate thru this wasteland of an airport.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitOctober 2023
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
no
5/10

"signage needs to improve"

(United States)

Trip Verified | We arrive at Sea Tac via Sound Transit bus. When one enters the terminal, at the ground level, it's not clear where to go! There is an elevator to take you to check in. Check in at American has always been good at Sea Tac. The Security lines are confusing, very poor communication and signage at the security lines. TSA employee on 8-14-23, around 6 pm. He started yelling at I guess other employees but it sounded as if a fight was breaking out. That's unacceptable. I like the restaurants and so on. The signage at the airport needs to improve as well as the security lines.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitAugust 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
3/10

"No reason to treat people like this"

(United States)

Not Verified | Departing this airport encountered the most rude employees. From TSA agents slinging insults at us about us not seeing open lines to just down right rude people. No reason to treat people like this. There are some unhappy people working in that terminal. Seemed to be so unorganized also. The floors in the terminal area were nasty and needed to be vacuumed. I took my shoes off because we had such a long wait and that’s when I realized how nasty the carpets were.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitSeptember 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

"definitely use a major upgrade"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Traffic at this airport has increased substantially over the past few years and the departure gates are often crowded and chaotic, with no place to sit. The terminals can definitely use a major upgrade. As a vegetarian, I was dismayed at the limited food choices. For an airport this large, there were not many places to eat, and prices were high (menus posted outside the eateries didn't list prices). Meat-free selections were few. I was lucky to find a SUBWAY in Terminal C (my flight left from Terminal D) and managed to enjoy a simple sandwich at a reasonable price.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitAugust 2023
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"queue that took 2 hours"

(United Kingdom)

Not Verified | Quite possibly the worst airport experience I’ve ever had. Customs was a queue that took 2 hours because there weren’t enough officers to go through 6 international flights that landed at the same time. Poorly marked and attendants were incredibly unhelpful. To call it an airport would be far too generous and I wish I could give 0 stars.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitAugust 2023
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"line at the airport is enormous"

(Austria)

Not Verified | The waiting line at the airport is enormous, we have been waiting more than 30 minutes, even though the waiting time was supposed to be a lot shorter. The crew at the security was very unhelpful, the first time my bags went though scan, they didn’t even take the picture - I had to wait in line again, took me 10 more minutes and arrived to the gate late, even though I came to airport early enough. Also, the floor was incredibly dirty everywhere I went
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitAugust 2023
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no