The Port of Seattle said the project will be completed by 2032 or is under construction.
SEATTLE — Travelers frustrated by crowded gates, long security lines and cramped terminal space may end up in Comprehensive expansion plan Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The Port of Seattle on Friday released a draft environmental impact statement for the airport’s proposed second terminal and other expansion projects, providing the clearest picture yet of how passengers will move through the larger airport campus over the next decade. The final environmental review is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
The package is designed to accommodate 56 million passengers per year. For reference, SEA serves 52.7 million passengers in 2025, if current forecast Western Washington is expected to handle more than 100 million passengers per year by 2050.
The port said the projects will be completed by 2032 or are under construction.
The proposal calls for a new multi-story passenger terminal to be built on the north side of the airport. The approximately 575,000-square-foot building will be located on the east side of the new gate concourse.
Within the terminal, plans call for underground baggage handling and security facilities, a baggage claim level for arriving passengers, a mezzanine level connecting the new car park and commercial curbside areas, and a departures level with passenger check-in counters and security checkpoints.
The new three-story concourse can accommodate up to 19 gates.
Planning documents describe a passenger lounge, concessions hall, restrooms and airline support facilities, as well as office space on the upper floors. An elevated walkway will connect the concourse and terminal.
The terminal complex will also include a new parking garage with approximately 1,350 spaces, replacing the existing Doug Fox Airport parking lot.
One of the project’s most notable features is a “people mover” connecting the existing terminal, Terminal 2 and rental car facilities. Current planning documents describe an elevated guideway approximately 6,000 feet high with three stations connecting these destinations.
How the new guideway will carry passengers has yet to be determined.
An airport spokesman said planners have not yet selected a final technology and could ultimately use buses, rail cars, autonomous vehicles or other transportation systems as design work progresses.
The expansion will also include a new ground transportation hub designed to improve connections between the airport and public transportation. Airport officials said the facility could provide enclosed pedestrian connections and moving walkways to connect Link light rail passengers to terminal facilities.
The port said design work on individual projects cannot be completed until environmental reviews are completed.
The public has until July 21 to review the draft environmental impact statement and submit comments.
