SEA airport monitoring potential security delays, threats amid Israel-Iran conflict

SEATAC, Wash. — While officials at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport said everything is operating normally, including security operations, some believe certain delays could happen if the situation intensifies after Iran attacked Israel over the weekend.

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Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International, an aviation consulting and research firm based out of Colorado, said Seattle flights shouldn't be affected.

“As far as any kind of cancellations that are taking place in the Middle East, or even in Europe, Seattle, Spokane, Fresno, (are) not really going to be affected at all,” Boyd said.

However, Boyd said airports across the country could see security delays due to the war.

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“What we’ve told airports that we work with, ‘It’s your responsibility to make sure that you have a plan.’” Boyd said. “That plan is if something happens at Seattle, or something happens at Spokane, or something happens at Bellingham, you better have a plan on your own to know what to do about it. The TSA, they’re fine, fine people working at these airports, I think the world of them. They’re not security, they’re the pointy object patrol. We may have some knee jerk reactions from Homeland Security that will quote ‘increase security checking’ at our airports. Won’t do much of anything, but for the eyewash. We may see some delays getting people through security in the next several days depending on how far this war goes.”

A TSA spokesperson told KOMO News that TSA will be prepared and that they’re always addressing potential security threats.

"Every commercial airport in America should be looking at their security plans, should be looking at their event mitigation plans, should be talking to whoever they work with the TSA about what we have to do,” Boyd told KOMO News. “Right now, there is a war going on. When a war goes on it can spread very rapidly. For passengers, be aware of that and in any case, understand that getting through airport, what they're calling security may be a lot more difficult."

Boyd added that depending on the severity of the conflict, more flights crossing the Atlantic may see some delays.

KOMO News spoke with several passengers flying domestically on Saturday who said they were aware of the situation in the Middle East, but said they were not particularly concerned. If needed, they’d arrive earlier at the airport when flying out.