Optimism for 2021 Wanderlust

We’re all living a new normal at the one-year mark since the onset of COVID-19. We wear face coverings. We honor physical distancing. We wash and sanitize our hands often. From the airport to the grocery story, these behaviors are now normal practices.  

Now with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, we can see a glimmer of light to look forward to the end of the pandemic.  

To understand your expectations during the COVID-19 era and the actions that restore your confidence in travel, we asked for your input throughout 2020 in polls and surveys.  

Most recently during the holiday travel season, you told us what you think about travel and the future.  

A quick disclaimer that I am not a data scientist. I just really care about what you and the traveling public think about Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).  

• You are mainly leisure travelers, and more than half of you traveled last year 
• If you traveled in 2020, the primary occasion was visiting family  
• The main hesitations holding you back from air travel are the rates of community spread and how soon you can be vaccinated  

FlyHealthy@SEA is our layered, comprehensive action plan to ensure your health and well-being while traveling. We’re prepared if you choose to go on a trip that couldn’t wait. Most of you are aware of enhanced health and safety measures at and feel confident that the airport is safe.  

Additionally, the bulk of you are very likely or somewhat likely to support our shops and restaurants while traveling. Eat and shop with confidence because the airport’s dining and retail program is also going above and beyond to protect you. 

In our essential travel series, some travelers flying through SEA shared their stories with us in 2020, including a family who moved out of the country for a military job, a woman and her young baby who came to Seattle to care for a parent, a traveling nurse taking her skills to a community in need, and family business owners relocating critical equipment. 

We know you have loved ones to visit and business to do. Thank you for trusting us as part of your journey.