Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will end the SEA Spot Saver program after Thanksgiving.
The free program launched in 2021, giving travelers a chance to avoid a long wait at the TSA checkpoint if they reserved ahead of time. The Port of Seattle said the program was only meant to be a “short-term solution” while they worked on improving wait times long-term.
Those long-term solutions arrived in 2025, with a brand new Checkpoint 1 and redesigned Checkpoint 5. The Port of Seattle said 94% of travelers are able to get through TSA in 20 minutes or less.
Perry Cooper, spokesperson for SEA, said the airport noticed travelers stopped using the program.
“About half of the folks that sign up for SEA Spot Saver end up not using it,” Cooper told KIRO Newsradio.
He said many of those travelers have ended up using the regular check lanes instead.
“We’re seeing a lot of folks that sign up at this point, and they actually see that the checkpoints are doing so well that they just go into the regular check lanes,” Cooper said.
The decreased demand is exactly what officials hoped they would see. Travelers can also monitor live checkpoint wait times online. All existing Spot Saver reservations between now and Nov. 29 will still be honored.
©2026 Cox Media Group
