---
title: "SEA is which airport? Seattle"
description: "SEA is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, United States. Why the code is SEA and not something you could guess, plus the codes it gets mixed up with."
url: https://atoneplace.net/airport/sea/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What airport is SEA?

**SEA is: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport**

Seattle, United States

## Why the code is SEA

The first three letters of Seattle.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

## The airport

- **IATA code:** SEA
- **ICAO code:** KSEA
- **Airport:** Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- **City:** Seattle, United States
- **Opened:** 1944
- **Code origin:** Documented

It was built during the war after the military took over Boeing Field, and the Port of Seattle placed it between Seattle and Tacoma so both cities would fund it — hence the hyphenated name that nobody uses. Everyone calls it Sea-Tac, including the city that grew up around it and formally took that name in 1990.

## The other code, KSEA

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, SEA, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, KSEA, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why KSEA looks nothing like SEA.

## Common questions

### What airport is SEA?

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, in Seattle, United States.

### Why is Seattle's airport called SEA?

The first three letters of Seattle.

### What is the difference between SEA and KSEA?

SEA is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. KSEA is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

## Related pages

- [United States](https://atoneplace.net/country/united-states/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [Airport codes in United States](https://atoneplace.net/airport/in/united-states/)
- [What airport is JFK?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/jfk/)
- [What airport is LAX?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/lax/)
- [What airport is ORD?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/ord/)
- [What airport is ATL?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/atl/)
- [What airport is MCO?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/mco/)
- [What airport is DFW?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/dfw/)
- [What airport is EWR?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/ewr/)
- [What airport is SFO?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/sfo/)

## Sources

- OurAirports — OurAirports (https://ourairports.com/data/) [Public domain]