SEAAirport Guide

Can you bring food through security at SEA?

TSA lets you bring solid food through SEA security. Most liquid and gel foods need 3.4-ounce containers. Baby food has an exception.

A wide security checkpoint hall with empty screening lanes under a white ceiling at Seattle-Tacoma airport.
Security checkpoint hall, SEA

You can bring a sandwich, bread, snacks or other solid food through security at SEA. The TSA officer makes the final decision at the checkpoint.

Sort your food before you join the line

The useful question is whether your food is solid or takes the shape of its container. The Port of Seattle uses that test for liquids. TSA’s food list gives these examples:

In your bag What to do at SEA security
Sandwiches, pizza, bread, cookies, nuts or solid cheese Bring them in your carry-on. TSA lists each as allowed.
Peanut butter, hummus, creamy cheese, yogurt, soup, jam or salsa Each container must hold no more than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) and go in your single quart-size liquids bag. Put larger containers in checked baggage if you have it.
Water, coffee, juice or soda Use the same liquid limit. Empty a larger bottle before screening, then refill or buy a drink afterward.
Canned food TSA lists it as allowed with special instructions, but screening may end with its refusal. Put it in checked baggage if you have it.

Need to buy food before screening? Sourced Market by Door 25 on the Main Terminal ticketing level lists daily hours of 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. On the baggage-claim level, Starbucks by Bag Claim 6 opens daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Urban Market by Bag Claim 7 lists daily hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. For snacks, 7-Eleven by Baggage Claim 15 lists 24-hour service. Neighborhood Cafe is also before security and lists daily hours of 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.

TSA officers may ask you to take food out if it obscures the X-ray image. If an item alarms or raises a security concern, they may screen it further or refuse it.

One traveler reported packing homemade cinnamon raisin bread and sausage biscuits for flights over four hours in a comment on Aviation Approved’s food-rules video.

Food that needs more care

If you’re bringing chilled food, check the ice when you reach screening. TSA allows frozen food and ice packs when the packs are completely frozen. A partially melted or slushy ice pack, or one with liquid at the bottom, must meet TSA’s 3-1-1 liquids requirements. Medically necessary gel packs in reasonable quantities have a separate exception, even when melted. Tell the officer about them.

Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby food, including puree pouches, can exceed 3.4 ounces. They don’t have to fit in your quart-size bag. Tell the officer at the start of screening and remove them for separate screening. TSA says baby food is allowed in reasonable quantities, and your child doesn’t have to be traveling with you for you to carry breast milk or formula.

For a food TSA doesn’t list, check TSA’s food search or text “Travel” to AskTSA at 275-872. If you’re traveling internationally, also check your destination’s food import rules.

Once you’re through, fill the bottle and find your food

At the checkpoint, use the liquid drain to empty your bottle before screening. Then head toward your gate. SEA lists 25 water refill stations after security. The N Concourse has stations on the train platform, the concourse level and the mezzanine. The S Concourse has two on its concourse level. Other stations are on the Main Terminal ticketing and gates level.

If you need food early, Starbucks by A3 opens at 3 a.m., and DISH D’LISH Food T’ Go Go by C11 and Urban Market by D2 open at 3:30 a.m. All three are after security and open daily. Starbucks closes at 11 p.m., DISH D’LISH at 11:30 p.m. and Urban Market at 10 p.m. At A gates, Floret Grab & Go by A1 gives you another nearby choice from 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Qdoba by B1 is open 24 hours. So are Starbucks, Dilettante Chocolates & Mocha Cafe and Hudson in the Central Terminal. Each is after security. Check our food directory for a place near your gate.

The A, B, C and D Concourses connect on foot beyond security. N and S need the airside train, so a place on another concourse may cost you a detour. The Green Line reaches N from C or D Station. The Blue Line reaches S from A or B Station, and the Yellow Line links A and D Stations. Already on N? Wendy’s by N11 opens daily from 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. At S gates, Smith Cove by S1 runs daily from 6 a.m. to midnight. You can eat at either without leaving the secure side.

Bought food before security? Any open checkpoint leads to every gate. For A or S, Checkpoints 1, 2 and 3 are closest. All open at 4 a.m. Checkpoint 1 closes at 8 p.m., 2 at 4 p.m. and 3 at 11:30 p.m. Checkpoint 4, closest to the Central Terminal and B and C Gates, stays open 24 hours. For C, D or N, Checkpoint 6 is closest. It opens at 4 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. Nearby Checkpoint 5 opens at 4 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m.

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