Dozens of flights delayed on busy travel day at Sea-Tac

SEATAC, Wash. — Millions of people are heading home Thursday after the holidays, and for many, the trips won’t be smooth ones.

For flyers at Sea-Tac Airport, it's expected to be the busiest day for the rest of the year.

For perspective, Christmas Day is one of the slowest travel days with Sea-Tac officials estimating that only 127,500 passengers used the airport.

That changes Thursday, with a crush of passengers, and storm systems in Southern California and across the Midwest heading east that are causing headaches for travelers. As of 6 a.m., there were about seven delays connected to Sea-Tac as well as five cancellations. But by 11 a.m., there were 105 delays and seven canceled flights.

Early Thursday, large crowds were already forming at gates as people left Seattle, and at baggage claim as people return home.

The Port of Seattle estimates that 152,500 passengers will go through Sea-Tac Thursday.

With only five days left in 2019, Sea-Tac will set records. Passenger traffic is up 3.8 percent, and the estimate for 2019 is more than 50 million passengers.

Unfortunately, travel troubles won't only be at the airport.

Thursday could be the worst day of the year for some drivers.

The latest transportation data from AAA shows traffic delays across the country could nearly double trip times.

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