Connecting flights
Connecting flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: transfers between flights.
More in our guide: International to domestic connection at Seattle airport.
Getting around
- SEA Underground Blue Line (South Train Loop)
- Airside train linking S, B and A Stations; a train arrives every three minutes.
- SEA Underground Green Line (North Train Loop)
- Airside train linking N, C and D Stations; a train arrives every three minutes.
- SEA Underground Yellow Line (shuttle)
- Airside shuttle with two stops, A Station and D Station, used to change between the south and north loops.
- Walking between A, B, C and D Concourses
- A, B, C and D are joined airside on foot, while N and S are not and need the train.
- International arrivals transfer to the A Concourse
- After baggage claim, passport control and airline recheck, connecting international passengers screen at the IAF TSA checkpoint, which exits into the A Concourse.
- Skybridges 1–6
- Landside bridges from terminal Level 4, one level below ticketing and one above baggage claim, to garage Level 4.
- Walkway to the SeaTac/Airport Link station
- Landside walkway through the north end of garage Level 4, near Alaska Airlines, to the light rail station.
- Train-to-Plane cart
- Free landside cart between the Link station and garage Level 4 by Skybridges 5 and 6, daily 5 a.m. to midnight, available to all, with baggage storage on the back of the cart.
Good to know
- Arriving from abroad, you collect your checked bags before passport control, even if you are connecting.
- The airport's connections page asks for 120 to 180 minutes between an international arrival and your next flight; its international arrivals page asks for at least three hours. Passport control and customs can take 60 minutes or more when several flights land together.
- Arrivals from an airport with U.S. preclearance have already cleared passport control and do not go through the International Arrivals Facility.
- At passport control, overhead signs send you to a lane: Mobile Passport Control, accessibility, U.S. citizens or non-U.S. citizens, with interpretation at the booths. Mobile Passport Control is a free app for U.S. and Canadian citizens; Global Entry works for every international arrival.
- After passport control, connecting travelers take the walkway on the right to the airline counters to recheck bags, then go to the TSA checkpoint. Travelers ending their trip go left and down the ramp.
- The connection checkpoint in the International Arrivals Facility is open 6 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. and has no TSA PreCheck. When it is closed, exit to the public side and screen at a main checkpoint. Some airlines also send you out to recheck bags at ticketing.
- Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines agents help international connections recheck bags and rebook, with hours that follow demand. Rebooking rules differ by airline, and help with bags at the international claim is arranged with your airline.
- People meeting an international arrival wait at baggage claim level in Gina Marie Lindsey Hall at the south end of the terminal. Customs usually takes 60 minutes or more, so follow the flight status rather than the landing time.
- Pets that flew in the cargo hold are collected outside the International Arrivals Facility exit.
Source: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport