With record passenger levels and major overhauls planned to passenger facilities underway at Sea-Tac Airport, The Port of Seattle is commissioning a new gate expansion. Located at the northend of the main terminal, Concourse D will be modestly expanded with the addition of a hardstand holdroom. The new 32,500-square foot passenger facility will be a two-story structure where passengers will both arrive and depart from while their planes wait at a hardstand site on the tarmac airfield about a half-mile away. Passengers will be shuttled between the holdroom and hardstand site.
The Port of Seattle has decided to use this as a different approach from the standard concourse-side gangway boarding method to accommodate peak passenger and gate demand. Instead of planes waiting on the tarmac for an open gate, they can move into the the hardstand site and begin the deboarding–and even boarding–process using moveable ramps. Buses will whisk passengers between the Concourse D Hardstand Holdroom and hardstand site north of the North Satellite (which itself is undergoing expansion and refurbishment). Passengers will be able to pick up the baggage as normal or make direct connections via Concourse D and the main terminal.
