Item No. 8d supp
Meeting Date: December 14, 2021
Airport Language
Interpretation Services
Presenter: Elicia Snowden
Manager, Customer Engagement
Aviation Customer Service

Commission Request:
Authorization for funding to acquire a language interpretation
contract for use at SEA
Amount: $1,000,000 for a 5-year contract
*maximum monthly invoice amount has been $16k, thus nearly $200k/year


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Background:
SEA relies on the airport's multilingual airport staff to assist our
international travelers, however, there are times when an employee
with the specific language skills is not available.
SEA has utilized a phone-based language service for several years;
recent growth in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Service used by: Port of Seattle Pathfinders,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
and U.S. Transportation Security Administration
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Overview:
All international arriving passengers must be screened and
potentially interviewed (can be up to 3-hour interviews)
Provides customers a seamless experience who have
limited to no English-speaking skills
On-demand over-the-phone (or video for ASL as well as all other
language) language interpreter primarily utilized by Customs and Border
Protection and Pathfinders
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Commission Request:
Authorization for funding to acquire a language interpretation
contract for use at SEA
Amount: $1,000,000 for a 5-year contract
*maximum monthly invoice amount has been $16k, thus nearly $200k/year


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