Travelers report increased frustration at airports nationwide — including Sea-Tac - Axios SeattleLog InLog InAxios Seattle is an Axios company.

People are mad at airports — including Sea-Tac

Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios Overcrowding is plaguing airports across the country — and earlier this week, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was a prime example. Driving the news: Photos on social media of security lines at Sea-Tac stretching into the airport parking garage, followed by more photos of long lines.A spokesperson said airport officials recorded a maximum security checkpoint wait time of 90 minutes on Sunday — but acknowledged some travelers might have waited longer, as the airport doesn't have a foolproof system for tracking queues that long. The big picture: People are reporting increased frustration at airports nationwide, Axios' Joann Muller writes.J.D. Power's latest found overall customer satisfaction with North American airports fell 25 points this year — for a score of 777 out of 1,000 — as passenger volume rebounded from a slump seen earlier in the pandemic. Zoom in: The study, released Wednesday, found that compared to similarly sized airports, Sea-Tac ranked below average when it came to customer satisfaction.The study looked at six factors: Terminal facilities; airport arrival/departure; security check; check-in/baggage check; baggage claim; and food, beverage and retail. What they're saying: Perry Cooper, the Sea-Tac spokesperson, said the recent long wait times at Sea-Tac were highly unusual.Normally, the airport sees a 15% drop in passenger traffic after Labor Day, which hasn't happened this year — and staffing has failed to keep up, airport officials said.Maintenance and construction also closed some lanes at security checkpoints last weekend, while an unrelated airline software outage caused delays on Monday, officials said. What's next: The airport and the Transportation Security Administration are increasing staffing this week to help prevent backups, per .The airport is also planning a new terminal to manage growing passenger volumes. That project is in the review stage, Cooper said. The bottom line: For now, passengers should expect frustrations at airports to continue into 2023, Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, said . He added: "It is clear that increased capacity in airports can't come soon enough." Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

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