Want to watch April’s solar eclipse in its shadow? Here are flight options from SeaTac
If you didn’t get to see the solar eclipse in October because of the bad weather in Washington and felt some kind of FOMO (fear of missing out), you’re in luck.
Another solar eclipse will darken the skies above the United States in April, but unfortunately, this one won’t pass as close to the Evergreen State.
The 2024 total solar eclipse will pass through the eastern half of the United States on April 8, “entering” the country in Maine and making a southwest path across Appalachia, into the south, and then into Mexico.
Some cities throughout Washington will still experience some of the eclipse. The sun in Tacoma, Olympia, Seattle and Redmond will only be about 20% eclipsed, while cities in the eastern side of the state including Pullman and Spokane will experience 26% to 28% of obscuration. So, if you want to see the eclipse in its full glory, you’ll have to get a little bit closer.
For celestial enthusiasts, seeing April’s eclipse may hold even more significance — this will be the last solar eclipse of any kind that can be seen from U.S. soil until a partial solar eclipse in March 2025 and then a total solar eclipse in March 2033 that will only be seen in Russia and Alaska.
Fortunately, it’s not too difficult nowadays to hop on a plane and leave town for a few days.
Flights from SeaTac to see the eclipse
Here are the cheapest roundtrip flights, as of March 1, from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport to cities close to the eclipse with a maximum of one stop and reasonable layover times. Flights will be dated for the weekend of April 6-7, with the eclipse occurring on Monday, April 8.
Be wary of weather conditions when booking flights. Forecasted weather can change over time, and although the eclipse can be viewed through cloud cover with special glasses, nothing beats seeing the eclipse on a cloudless day.
Some airport locations may not be directly in the path of totality and will require additional travel to see the eclipse at 100%.
Syracuse, New York - $747 with united Airlines with a stop in New Jersey. Syracuse is within the path of totality.
Buffalo, New York - $1,304 with United Airlines with a stop in New Jersey. Buffalo is within the path of totality.
Detroit, Michigan - $229 with Frontier Airlines with a stop in Phoenix. Detroit is about an hour’s drive north of the path of totality.
Cleveland, Ohio - $651 with Spirit Airlines with a stop in Las Vegas. Cleveland is within the path of totality.
Columbus, Ohio - $507 with Spirit Airlines with a stop in Las Vegas. Columbus is marginally south of the path of totality.
Cincinnati, Ohio - $728 with Alaska Airlines with a stop in Philadelphia. Cincinnati is marginally south of the path of totality.
Louisville, Kentucky - $755 with United Airlines with a stop in New Jersey. Louisville is about an hour’s drive south of the path of totality.
St. Louis, Missouri - $358 with Frontier Airlines with a stop in Las Vegas. St. Louis is about an hour’s drive west of the path of totality.
Dallas, Texas - $630 with Frontier Airlines with a stop in Denver. Dallas is in the path of totality.
Monterrey, Mexico - $1,458 with Aeroméxico with a stop in Mexico City Monterrey is about two hours south of the path of totality.
Want to fly during the eclipse?
While viewing the eclipse from the ground is still magnificent, Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines have several scheduled flights that will pass through the path of totality during the eclipse.
Unfortunately, none of those flights are directly to or from Seattle-Tacoma. But if you want to take your eclipse viewing to new heights, here are the flights scheduled to be in the air during the eclipse.
All departure times are based on the city’s time zone from which the plane will take off from:
Southwest Flight #1252: departs Dallas (Love Field) at 12:45 p.m. for Pittsburgh
Southwest Flight #1721: departs Austin at 12:50 p.m. for Indianapolis
Southwest Flight #1910: departs St. Louis at 1:20 p.m. for Houston (Hobby)
Delta Flight #5699: departs from Detroit at 2:50 p.m. for White Plains, New York
Delta Flight #924: departs from Los Angeles at 8:40 a.m. for Dallas
Delta Flight #2869: departs from Los Angeles at 9 a.m. for San Antonio
Delta Flight #1001: departs from Salt Lake City at 10:08 a.m. for San Antonio
Delta Flight #1683: departs from Salt Lake City at 9:55 a.m. for Austin
If you’re looking to be on board a flight that will travel through the eclipses path of totality for that longest time, Delta is offering two special flights:
- Delta Flight #1010: departs from Dallas at 12:30 p.m. CT and will land in Detroit at 4:20 p.m. ET
- Delta Flight #1218: departs from Austin at 12:15 p.m. CT and will land in Detroit at 4:20 p.m. ET
The following flights may also cross the path of totality during their scheduled operating time, but the chances are less certain than the flights above:
Southwest Flight #955 departs Dallas (Love Field) at 12:50 p.m. for Chicago (Midway)
Southwest Flight #506: departs Milwaukee at 1:05 p.m. for Dallas (Love Field)
Southwest Flight #1734: departs Houston (Hobby) at 1:35 p.m. for Indianapolis
Southwest Flight #1682: departs Chicago (Midway) at 1:30 p.m. for Austin
Southwest flight #3108: departs Nashville at 1:40 p.m. for Dallas (Love Field)
This story was originally published March 2, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
