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    South Satellite Terminal

    3.0 (25 reviews)

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    90s retro vibe.
    Jennifer J.

    Who needs time travel? The South Satellite is like a trip back to SeaTac in the 90s. With its low, dark ceilings, unintentionally retro furnishings, and complete lack of interesting food and shopping options, the SS is a good reminder of why SEA decided to undergo major remodeling projects that started decades ago and continue to impede passengers to this day. (Someday, in the year 2046, these improvements may reach the South Satellite.) The underground train ride to the SS is something akin to a pre-apocalypse suspense film. Unwitting passengers look around nervously, their eyes darting fun sign to sign, wondering if they've inadvertently ended up on a trip to the Other Side. Why, you may wonder, was I even in the SS on the first place? I'm asking myself that question, too. I guess all the zillions of well-lit gates at the other Satellites were taken up by other, more important travelers. So the gate scheduling computer decided "Hey, I'm sure those Sacramento-bound pax wouldn't mind a trip back in time to the South Satellite to await their flight. Remind them to bring their flashlights." Really, though, it's not all bad on the SS. There's a retro 1970s duty free shop, and none of those pesky fun gift shops that temp you to buy cute, unnecessary things while you await your flight. I'm looking at you, North Satellite.

    South Satellite Terminal
    Jon L.

    The South Satellite Terminal is where the majority of international flights at Sea-Tac Airport fly out of. Though the flights are not exclusively international as some domestic flights to destinations like Hawaii use this terminal. To reach this terminal, you need to take the people mover system to reach it. Make sure to take the right one as one heads in the other direction towards the North Satellite Terminal. From the Central Terminal, it is a two stop train ride to the South Satellite Terminal. If you need to make a connection from the South Satellite to the North Satellite, this would mean taking one train to the Central Terminal and switching to the other train as the people mover trains only go back and forth. The facilities here are similar to those at the North Satellite Terminal which is to say the number of eateries and shops here are limited. If you are looking for a bite at the airport, you are better off getting something at the Central Terminal. As this terminal is where international flights fly out of, there is a duty free shop here though it pales in size to the duty free stores in other cities. It feels quite small considering Sea-Tac is currently the 9th largest airport in the US. I have taken several international trips out of Sea-Tac, most recently on my trip to Germany a little over a month ago. I have found the US customs process upon return to be relatively quick compared to LAX. This is because you enter your customs info using a computer upon arriving at Sea-Tac which speeds up the process even though there might be a line. Also you collect luggage for international flights at South Satellite, as opposed to having to go to the baggage claim area at the Central Terminal. If you have a connecting flight, you will need to check it in again before heading to your gate. If that is the case, make sure to book a flight that gives you enough time. I don't think a 45 minute or 1 hour layover at Sea-Tac is enough if you are connecting from an international flight, but I think 2 hours is sufficient. While the facilities at this terminal could be improved, I like flying out of South Satellite when I am traveling internationally. The customs process at Sea-Tac is significantly quicker than at LAX. So if you have the choice between connecting from an international flight to one of these airports, I would choose Sea-Tac. It is smaller and faster.

    Airport is the slowest I've ever seen. Actually a lot nicer.
    Jonah R.

    It's a terminal. Nothing special. Not too many seats. Close to a couple shops for last minute items, has a couple bathrooms. Water fountains were off because of the 'Rona. About 8 gates total down at the end. It's a terminal. Blah

    Andrew S.

    Arrived to a new section of SeaTac. Very clean, well lighted, and of course a small crowd here. Signs are well posted to navigate the traveler to other gates or to the baggage claim. Restrooms are near and convenient. No major complaints from this traveler.

    Looking back at the main terminal from the S gates
    Byron B.

    In the process of being rebuilt so it's hard to give it a fair rating. It will B nice and clean but I do wonder about food and drink options as it seems to be lacking those in the construction phase... stay tuned and get food before you come over here as of now

    South Satellite Terminal needs more places to eat or grab snacks, only one sit down restaurant and always crowded.

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    3 years ago

    Had a flight from gate S15. great. Had power outlets too. Also had no delays. (Singapore Airlines 27)

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    Red eye flights and every business closes before 6pm. Only thing open later is Peets. Make sure you don't get on the train before you eat.

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    I'm usually happy when I roll through here because I'm on my way somewhere interesting. AS far as airport terminals go, it's just fine...

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    Ask the Community - South Satellite Terminal

    Review Highlights - South Satellite Terminal

    Dominated by Alaska Airlines, SeaTac features excellent restaurants and a handful of nice-enough shops.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

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    North Satellite Terminal - Central area of N Gates

    North Satellite Terminal

    3.8(27 reviews)
    0.7 mi

    " N GATE " aka North Terminal is the best of the best @ SeaTac Airport. Totally upgraded during…read moreCovid19 epidemic and now this Death Star is fully operational now. After a gritty over crowded underground train ride the doors open and a mad rush of human waist head for the escalators. I'm included in that afterbirth of people but I'm special. I skip the shops and head for "THE LOUNGE"! Alaska Airlines has their premium lounge for people who pay to be pampered and of coarse I pay for that privilege... I enjoy the spectacular view of planes taking off while having unlimited tasty beverage ( sometimes alcohol ) and typically morning goodies. This refuge allows me to hide out from the scourge of humanity waiting for a plane to somewhere... Ok, there are plenty of dining and beverage places to wet your whistle including a Wendy's can you believe it... In fact grabbing a chili for my flight is a wonderful idea. It will keep the travel people away from me as I'll donate some of myTreblinka fumes into the ozone layer... Moving onto the shopping well many opportunity's to purchase candy or clothing and maybe even a silly souvenir of our local sports team. Enjoy your experience and have a wonderful flight! And please folks one reminder DO NOT WHISTLE while you walk around, it's annoying!

    Date of visit: July 22, 2025…read more The concept of the different "pods" of gates to help control traffic (likely both people and planes!) is a nice one, but the biggest issue I have with it is that you are unable to walk everywhere you need to go and have to rely on the trams to get you where you need to be if you have a connecting flight. I wish all airports would let you stretch your legs and strut from one end of the terminals to the other, like Atlanta does. All that being said, SEA and the North Satellite Terminal are in overall good condition and the letter/numbering system is straightforward and easy to follow. Like most airports, stairs are an after-thought yet all of the escalators and aforementioned trams were in good condition.

    Photos
    North Satellite Terminal
    North Satellite Terminal - View of North terminal from C gates

    View of North terminal from C gates

    North Satellite Terminal - Wooden sculpture

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    TSA Checkpoint Charlie - Seattle/Tacoma International Airport

    TSA Checkpoint Charlie - Seattle/Tacoma International Airport

    2.8(9 reviews)
    0.4 mi

    Lately, I would have to say on average I am here at-least 2-8x a month before heading for work. The…read moreline is either long or short, but moves quickly. The TSA Agents for the most times are friendly, they are quick and sometimes personable. There are multiple TSA checkpoints in SeaTac and you have many option of entering to get to several of the terminal's many concourses. Word of Advice for savy travelers. Get yourself TSA Pre-check, CLEAR, or Global Entry to bypass regular TSA. Don't forget that the Wifi is also free at SeaTac!

    Seattlites are some of the friendliest people and the nicest people that I've ever met...but their…read morecheckpoint at their International airport needs some work... Got stuck here a while back due to some weird delay and there were lots of people that missed their flights...luckily the girl standing in front of me was from L.A. and we had a great time talking about k-pop stars, k-soaps and of course plastic surgery! So I can't give you tips on how to by pass the line but here are a few things I suggest you can do while you're waiting in line... 1. Where is Waldo....here is an interactive game of finding Waldo https://www.sporcle.com/games/Stanford0008/wheres-waldo 2. Find the invisible cow https://findtheinvisiblecow.com/ 3. The Useless Website https://theuselessweb.com/ (This is the google of useless websites. You're welcome!) 4. Hacker Typer http://hackertyper.com/ Remember the dark black computer screen with green letters in The Matrix...oh ya, we did! 5. Wikipedia list of dog names https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_individual_dogs

    Photos
    TSA Checkpoint Charlie - Seattle/Tacoma International Airport - Waiting in the TSA-Precheck Line.

    Waiting in the TSA-Precheck Line.

    TSA Checkpoint Charlie - Seattle/Tacoma International Airport - MoPoP and Mo' Lines at SeaTac...maybe clear next time...

    MoPoP and Mo' Lines at SeaTac...maybe clear next time...

    TSA Checkpoint Charlie - Seattle/Tacoma International Airport - TSA checkpoint

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    The Centurion Lounge - That design tho

    The Centurion Lounge

    3.2(592 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $

    Had the best complementary buffet in an airport lounge in my life…read more My wife, her mom, and I were traveling back home to LAX from Seattle on a Wednesday. Due to price differences, I ended up booking the direct flight for 17:30 for savings. Since we needed to check out of our Mercer Island airbnb by 11, we ended up staying around the airport for a while. It is stated that Centurion Lounge allows access 3 hours before your scheduled departure. At this location, this is easily enforced by not letting one join their mandatory virtual queue until the time is within that timeframe. So we joined the queue at exactly 2:30, and got a text invitation with QR code 15 minutes later. Check-in was the same, requiring the actual CC that grants entry, along with ID and boarding pass. It's a pretty big lounge and it wasn't packed like we saw from previous visits, so then appreciated the timed entry that we had just gone through. We were able to find seating near the bar area. The first thing I noticed was the busy cold seafood bar, situated near the coffee bar. It looked good, but didn't realize how good until I started to partake. There were two chefs manning the bar...one constantly shucking oysters and the other making sure the shrimp and scallops were maintained, joining in the shucking when he could. It was called the 'Puget Sound Raw Bar', and consisted of freshly shucked Kumamoto and Takara Oysters on the half shell, scallop Ceviche on the half shell, salmon crudo, poached prawns, two different types of poke, and various seafood salads. I was really impressed with the oysters...instead of the typical Pacific oysters, this was Kumamoto which is so much sweeter, but so much smaller. Have never had more than half dozen at a time of those, and I had way more than that this time (my wife and her mom don't like cold seafood, let alone raw, so felt I had to make up for that). I did have my fill of giant chilled shrimp, though. And the scallop ceviche was absolutely delicious. The salmon poke used wild salmon caught in the area...even in poke, it was obvious that it was king salmon and the quality just shined. All of this was quality that would fit into a high priced seafood tower at a high-end steakhouse. We had time, so ended up trying different types of their cocktail drinks from the bar as well. They allow you to only pick up one drink per person at a time, so had to request my wife to go up to directly pick up hers. Later learned that this buffet is only offered once or twice a month, and only for 3-4 hours. Looking back, I felt like I hit the lottery by being offered this for no additional cost at the exact time of our visit. Will take these small wins, whenever I can.

    If you're planning to visit the Centurion Lounge at Sea-Tac, my biggest piece of advice is to join…read morethe waitlist in the Amex app as soon as you clear security. In the app, tap the Membership tab at the bottom, select Airport Lounges, find the Seattle Sea-Tac Centurion Lounge, and then tap Join Waitlist. During my visit, the wait to get in was longer than expected (45 minutes) and using the waitlist can save you a considerable amount of time. After seeing the lounge in person, it was easy to understand why there is often a wait. The space is beautiful, but it's much smaller than I anticipated and can get very crowded during peak travel times. Another thing to know is that the lounge isn't the easiest place to find if it's your first visit. It's tucked away near Koi Sushi in the middle of the main concourse food court area, so keep an eye out for the signs as you make your way through the terminal. Once inside, I could see why so many travelers want access. The lounge is modern, comfortable, and well maintained. The staff were outstanding throughout my visit. Everyone I interacted with was friendly, professional, and genuinely welcoming. The vanilla latte was excellent and easily one of the better coffees I've had in an airport lounge. Service at the coffee bar and throughout the lounge was top-notch. The food was good, although the selection felt more limited than I expected. There was a soup station, salad options, appetizers, and several hot entrées. Everything I tried was fresh and flavorful. The green smoothies were fantastic, and the made-in-house ice cream was a standout and worth saving room for. I typically favor going to the Delta Sky Clubs when flying through Seattle, so it was nice to finally check out the Centurion Lounge. My husband specifically wanted to try it on this trip, and I'm glad we did because it was a worthwhile experience. Overall, I think the Centurion Lounge is definitely a great option if you have access. However, if you also have access to the two Delta Sky Clubs at Sea-Tac, I would personally choose those instead. The Sky Clubs offer a much more spacious experience, significantly more seating, and what feels like three times the number of food options. I've also never had to wait to get into a Sky Club in Seattle, whereas the wait for the Centurion Lounge was substantial. That said, I still enjoyed my visit. The lounge is attractive, the service is excellent, the coffee is great, and it's a comfortable place to relax before a flight. If lounge access comes with one of your cards, it's absolutely worth visiting. I'm just not sure I would pay $50 separately for access given the crowds and limited space. If you're looking for a comfortable place to recharge, grab a quality coffee, enjoy a meal, and escape the terminal for a bit, the Centurion Lounge delivers. Just set your expectations regarding the size and wait times. While my personal preference remains the Delta Sky Clubs, I can absolutely see why Centurion Lounge fans enjoy this space, especially for the service, coffee, and overall atmosphere.

    Photos
    The Centurion Lounge - Inside

    Inside

    The Centurion Lounge - Matcha oat latte

    Matcha oat latte

    The Centurion Lounge - The bar

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    The bar

    South Satellite Terminal - airportterminals - Updated July 2026

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