Seattle-Tacoma International security wait times: what to expect
From October 12 to November 9 we logged 324,522 security checkpoint readings at Seattle-Tacoma International. The standard lane averaged 6 minutes. 84% of standard-lane readings were 10 minutes or less, and none were over half an hour.
When the line is longest
The standard line at SEA is longest around 7 AM, when it has averaged 10 minutes, and shortest around 2 AM, at 3 minutes. By day of the week, Friday has been the heaviest (7 minutes on average) and Saturday the lightest (5 minutes).
| Time of day | Standard |
|---|---|
| Early morning (4–8 AM) | 7 min |
| Morning (8 AM–noon) | 8 min |
| Midday (noon–4 PM) | 8 min |
| Evening (4–8 PM) | 5 min |
| Night (8 PM–4 AM) | 4 min |
Average wait across the last 28 days. A dash means the lane is usually closed then.
Is PreCheck worth it at SEA?
The feed for SEA does not report a separate TSA PreCheck line, so the figures above cover the standard lane only.
Terminal by terminal
Checkpoint 5 has had the shortest standard line (3 minutes on average) and Checkpoint 6 the longest (9 minutes). Security is separate in each terminal, so the one that matters is the one your airline uses.
| Terminal | Standard avg | PreCheck avg | Busiest hour | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checkpoint 1 | 5 min | — | 1 PM | — |
| Checkpoint 2 | 6 min | — | 2 PM | — |
| Checkpoint 3 | 8 min | — | 10 PM | — |
| Checkpoint 4 | 8 min | — | 9 AM | — |
| Checkpoint 5 | 3 min | — | 7 AM | — |
| Checkpoint 6 | 9 min | — | 7 AM | — |
Common questions
- What is the best time to go through security at SEA?
- Over the last 28 days the standard lane has been quietest around 2 AM, averaging 3 minutes, and Saturday has been the lightest day.
- Which terminal at SEA has the shortest security line?
- On average, Checkpoint 5 (3 minutes). You can only use the checkpoint for your own terminal, though, so check which terminal your airline flies from in the finder above.
- How early should I get to SEA?
To plan your arrival, use the worst hour rather than the average: at SEA that is 10 minutes in the standard lane around 7 AM. Allow that on top of your airline's check-in and bag-drop deadlines, and more on Fridays and holiday weekends. The live board above shows what the line is doing right now, and the chart projects the next 12 hours.
Where these numbers come from
Each airport publishes its own checkpoint wait estimates. This site reads them every minute and keeps every reading. Closed lanes are left out of the averages, and times are local to the airport. The averages above cover the last 28 days and are recalculated every hour. The posted wait is the airport's estimate, not a timed measurement, so treat it as a guide.
The full archive is free to download as an open dataset, and the about page explains who runs the site and why.