Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from TCM to SEA:
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- About this route
- TCM Airport Information
- SEA Airport Information
- Facts about TCM
- Facts about SEA
- Map of Nearest Airports to TCM
- List of Nearest Airports to TCM
- Map of Furthest Airports from TCM
- List of Furthest Airports from TCM
- Map of Nearest Airports to SEA
- List of Nearest Airports to SEA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SEA
- List of Furthest Airports from SEA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 23 miles (or 37 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between McChord Field/McChord AFB and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | TCM / KTCM |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°8'16"N by 122°28'35"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military: Air Force Base |
Elevation: | 322 feet (98 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from TCM |
More Information: | TCM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SEA / KSEA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°26'56"N by 122°18'33"W |
Area Served: | Seattle; Tacoma, Washington, US |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 433 feet (132 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SEA |
More Information: | SEA Maps & Info |
Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):
- Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
- On 6 October 1949, the 62nd received its first four-engine Douglas C-54 Skymaster transport.
- In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
- On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
- The 62d Airlift Wing is the host unit at McChord Field.
- McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
- Starting in mid-1943 the training of B-17 and B-24 replacement crews began to be phased out, as the Second Air Force began ramping up training of B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bomb groups, destined for Twentieth Air Force.
- The base was the location of the first of twenty-eight stations built by ADC as part of the permanent air defense radar network, and was the top-priority site for ADC radars.
- The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
Facts about Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA):
- The furthest airport from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SEA.
- The two-story North Concourse added four new gate positions and a new wing 600 feet long and 30 feet wide.
- Because of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- A recurring problem at the airport is misidentification of the westernmost taxiway, Taxiway Tango, as a runway.
- In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
- The new 3rd runway opened on November 20, 2008, with a total construction cost of $1.1 billion.
- Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.
- In 2013, the airport served over 34.7 million passengers, making it the 15th-busiest airport in the United States.
- The airport is also served both by the King County Metro bus system and Sound Transit regional express buses.
- Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.