I'm glad you made it out of the sugar coma in time to find your way around the airport

If you have elite status, be sure to take advantage of it by using the elite line where possible! They say the lines are extreme during peak travel times.

Someone evidently went through the TSA checkpoint the wrong way so while the terminals are not being evacuated, airport operations have been halted until the person can be found and interrogated.

I was there two hours ago to pick up a car. Looks like I timed it well.

The person has been found and the airport is now back open.

Last week Mrs. Fredd and I flew out of SEA for the first time in six weeks. We used two different elite lines and noticed quite a change. An AS checker grudgingly let us in with our UA 1K BPs at the closest access point to the Pacific Marketplace, which we hadn't yet seen. Once we got past her we realized we had to barge in front of others to get to an open TSA lane, not a pleasant feeling. The wait itself was only about 15 minutes around 6:00 p.m.

Later we ventured outside security to help family members check in for our UA flight and then headed back to our usual security line behind the UA counters. As others have noted, the elite line is now closest to you. It was only after we were in it for awhile that we discovered that there were only two TSA checkpoints open, and we waited for at least 30 minutes. We again felt we were barging in front of others as we got to the front. As a 1K I like barging in but I like being able to do it discreetly.

We seldom fly out of SEA in the evening. Are these mob scenes typical of early evenings, summers, or both, did we just have the bad luck of a particularly busy night, or have the logistics worsened in the security lines?

The TSA shifted staff from the afternoon and evening shifts to the morning to lesson the wait times (at the request of the airlines and the Port of Seattle). The result has been generally modest morning wait times but longer afternoon/evening wait times.

Thanks for the explanation. I think the last time we flew out of SEA in the evening was about three years ago. Those early morning flights now look even better to me.

Mid-day lineups for our most recent two flights were just fine - virtually no wait in the *G line and a TSA employee ushering at the front to merge and direct us. That was a positive contrast to the previous occasion I described, and feeling we were more-or-less barging in front of others wondering (some out loud) where we sneaked in from.

I'll be flying out of SeaTac in the next couple of weeks. I went to the TSA "wait times" website, and it says that the shortest line for security is FIS (which I can't use, given that I depart from SEA!), followed by the "SEAC" checkpoint.

What/where is the SEAC checkpoint? The others (Central, North, and South) are all obvious. I checked the SeaTac website but couldn't find any mention of it.

thanks!

I think that the TSA website is causing undue confusion with their acronyms. From what I know, there are three security checkpoints - north, central, and south. North serves the D and N gates, Central is for the B and C gates, and South is for the A and S gates. I have found that the North checkpoint tends to be the most crowded. I personally like the South checkpoint.

If you would rather spend your time walking than standing in line, I would pick either the Central or South checkpoint, no matter which gate you are going to. Any checkpoint will get you to anywhere within the secured area. The N and S gates require you to take the underground subway, which is on the secured side of the airport. The rest of the gates are a 10 minute walk from almost anywhere, with the exception of the low numbered A gates which are quite far down towards the south.

During the past year, the most time I have spent in a security line at Sea-Tac is about 20 minutes. I would say that 10 to 15 minutes is typical. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Not sure which TSA website you are seeing SEAC on? The TSA website at:

http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov

Lists these checkpoints:

Central Checkpoint
FIS Checkpoint
North
South Checkpoint

The FIS Checkpoint stands for "Federal Inspection Service". Not sure why the TSA lists it since it's not open for use by the general public (I'm not sure, but I don't even think it's in the main terminal - anyone know?).

The other three (North, Central, South) are open for all.

As Jeeves states, you can use whichever checkpoint has the shortest line - once airside past security all the concourses are connected and walkable (except North and South you have to take the underground train).

It says FIS (Federal Inspection Services) is located inside customs and immigration as people are transiting to another domestic flight from an international flight.
The checkpoint into C gates was open when I was at the airport. But most of the time it is not open. I almost always head to Central these days even if I have a flight in the D concourse.

I thought I would pass along the following message I've been getting the past week or so from Alaska Air in their Preflight e-mails:

"Passengers traveling out of D gates are advised the North security access at the D concourse is now restricted to two lanes due to TSA activities."

Don't know how long this is in effect. Perhaps another reason to avoid the North checkpoint.

The C checkpoint (which is between the Central and North checkpoints and usually only used during busy times of year) is open through Monday while the North checkpoint will only have limited lanes open during this time. The TSA is experimenting with different checkpoint arrangements to optimize passenger flow.

All the commercial airline flights, I believe, are accessible from all the security lines.

I normally fly United (which is in the N (North) terminal). There are times when the security line closest to the N gates is way too busy so I've walked down to the C or S gates security lines, gotten done in 10 - 15 mins, and then taken the train(s) to the N terminal.