Delta puts international expansion plans at Sea-Tac on hold

SEATAC, Wash. — Delta is putting the brakes on international flight expansion plans at Sea-Tac Airport.

The airline says it won't add any more international flights until customs lines get faster.

It may be another few years before Sea-Tac gets the upgrades Delta wants, according to Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, who spoke to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Bastian says the international arrivals facility is too congested, so the airline probably won't expand international flights until 2019.

The Business Journal reports that the current facility for international arrivals is more than 30 years old and gets very crowded with passengers as they go through customs.

CEO Ed Bastian told the journal he sees opportunities in Asia, Mexico and Latin America.

The Port of Seattle plans to break ground on its new facility as soon as possible.

It will be a $608 million international arrivals facility that will be complete in 2019.

Cox Media Group