PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 

COMMISSION AGENDA             Item No.          7c 
Date of Meeting       July 28, 2009 
DATE:    July 22, 2009 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Richard Ottele, General Manager Aviation Facilities & Infrastructure
John Christianson, General Manager Aviation Maintenance 
SUBJECT:  Sea-Tac International Airport Elevator/Escalator Renewal & Replacement
Program. 

BACKGROUND

Seattle Tacoma International Airport (Airport) is a multilevel facility that is very dependent on
vertical transportation units (elevators and escalators) to support the smooth operation and
through-put of the facility. The terminal, satellites, concourses and office building encompass
over three (3) million square feet of space with vertical transportation serving eleven (11) levels.
On a daily basis, some 50,000 to 100,000 passengers, airline staff, Transportation Security
Administration and Customs and Border Patrol officials, concessionaires, Port staff and others
depend on elevators and escalators to get to their flights, retrieve baggage, or perform their jobs
at the Airport. 
There are 81 elevators and 79 escalators at the Airport. Many of these units have exceeded their
expected service life of 25 years and need to be replaced. As is typical with aging equipment,
maintenance costs associated with breakdowns and repairs have escalated from under $200,000
in 2003 to a projected $1 million in 2009. A growing number of elevators and escalators are out
of service for repairs at any one time, leading to inconvenience for travelers and disruptions to
Airport operations. Although some equipment has been modernized over the past few years, it is
now necessary to embark on a large replacement and renewal program. 
This briefing will outline the Airport's plan to renew and replace these critical infrastructure
elements the next four years (2010  2013) with an estimated cost of $29 million modernization 
program.