Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA)
Tel: (206) 433 5388 or 1 800 544 1965.
Website: www.seatac.org

‘Sea-Tac' airport is located 19km (12 miles) south of Seattle, off the I-5, and carries close to 30 million passengers annually. It is the primary air transportation hub for Washington State and the Pacific Northwest, as well as a departure point to Canada, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and South Korea. As in all US airports, heightened security measures are in place for passenger safety and you should allow extra pre-flight time, as well as check the website for the latest updates.

Take-offs, landings and the Olympic Mountains can be viewed from the glass-walled Central Terminal (centre of the Main Terminal). The state-of-the-art hub contains Pacific Marketplace, a centre of restaurants and retail shops. A five-storey officer tower has conference rooms and state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment. A shuttle runs from the north end of the Main Terminal to its south end.

Approximate flight times to Seattle: From London is 9 hours 45 minutes; from New York is 6 hours 10 minutes; from Los Angeles is 2 hours 40 minutes; from Toronto is 5 hours 30 minutes and from Sydney is 18 hours.

Airport facilities: These include a visitor information centre, a lost property office (tel: (206) 433 5312) and several 24-hour ground transportation booths (tel: (206) 431 5906). There are numerous ATMs, two Thomas Cook bureaux de change and a language phone line which provides interpreters for more than 150 languages. The airport has telephone booths, mailboxes and wheelchair availability, as well as the usual shops, restaurants, bars, banks and duty-free shopping. Left luggage is available at Ken's Baggage and Storage, located on the baggage claim level, between Carousels 12 and 13. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz and National car hire companies have information counters in the baggage claim area.

Business facilities: Laptop Lane is located in North Satellite Terminal, adjacent to Gate 9, with PC workstations, Internet access, telephones with long distance and conference-calling capabilities, printing, copying, faxing and package shipping, as well as private offices.

Transport to the city: Airport and hotel shuttles run almost around the clock, with scheduled departure and arrival times available from the Ground Transportation Information Booths (tel: (206) 431 5904), located on the third floor of the parking garage. Service requires advanced booking. Shuttle Express provides shared rides and a door-to-door service to most of Greater Seattle (tel: (425) 981 7000 or 1 800 487 7433; website: www.shuttleexpress.com). The Gray Line Downtown Airporter (tel: (206) 626 6088 or 1 800 426 7532; website: www.graylineofseattle.com) departs twice an hour throughout the day, with services to and from main hotels and downtown destinations. The public bus 194 (see Public Transport in the Getting Around section) departs every 30 minutes for the city centre (journey time - 45 minutes). Taxis (tel: (206) 246 9999) and limousines (tel: (206) 431 5904) are also available.