Winter weather causes ongoing air travel disruptions in Seattle

Winter weather continued to disrupt travel on Tuesday, January 4, as near-freezing temperatures in Seattle, Washington, formed areas of black ice across roadways, the National Weather Service warned.

Large crowds were seen at check-in areas of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday, January 4, as the airport saw continued delays and flight cancellations.

This video, recorded by @forever_crissa, who said it was filmed on Tuesday morning, shows passengers crowding at a check-in area of Sea-Tac. More footage released by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday shows an airplane’s takeoff over a snowy runway.

Service at the airport has been impacted by severe weather across the US, and COVID-19-related staffing shortages, according to local reports.

“Big kudos to our crews that kept SEA open and operational,” the airport wrote in a tweet. “Since Christmas Eve, SEA crews worked over 6,600 hours clearing the airfield, airport roadways, and parking lots.”

On Tuesday, dozens of flights departing Sea-Tac were delayed or canceled, according to the tracking website FlightAware. The airport’s rate of delays and cancellations, however, was lower than that of East Coast airports such as Reagan National and Newark Liberty.

According to FlightAware, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport experienced 137 flight cancellations over 24 hours as of Tuesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration warned that ice may continue to affect East Coast flights on Tuesday while more snow was expected to affect parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic starting Thursday.