Inslee announces new travel guidelines during Spring Break at Sea-Tac

New travel guidance from Governor announced during busiest travel weekend at SEA Airport

Governor Jay Inslee announced new travel guidance during what Seattle-Tacoma International Airport officials say will be their busiest weekend throughout the entire pandemic.

SEATAC, WA - Gov. Jay Inslee announced new travel guidance during what Seattle-Tacoma International Airport officials say will be their busiest weekend throughout the entire pandemic.

Airport officials expect the next few weeks to get busy they said.

It is the start of Spring and spring break for a lot of colleges and universities. That means more travel.

Perry Cooper with Sea-Tac says they expect about 80,000 travelers will pass through the airport on Friday. Those numbers are the highest Sea-Tac has seen all pandemic. Cooper says they expect the numbers to keep rising over the next few weeks.

"We just got done with finals week," said Sophie Paradis.

Paradis is a student at Western Washington University. She says she did more than pack her bags before her trip.

"I had to get a COVID test and drive two hours to Maple Valley from Bellingham because there was no approved places there," she said.

Getting COVID-19 tests before traveling is actually a part of the new state guidance.

Since November, there has been guidance in place from Governor Jay Inslee; however, on Friday Inslee rescinded those guidelines to align with the CDC.

The new guidelines provide a shorter number of days to self-quarantine, from 14 to about ten, depending on if, and when, you get a COVID-19 test.

The guidelines recommend getting tested 1-3 days before your trip, and getting tested again 3-5 days after.

If you can, get vaccinated.

Finally, wear a mask and social distance.

While Sea-Tac is seeing the most numbers it has all year, they are still 57% lower than the daily average of travelers at the airport before the pandemic. Those numbers averaged around 140,000 travelers per day.