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S46

Seattle TRACON

FAA Approach Control Burien, Washington

Facility Information

Facility Overview
Identifier S46
Facility Name Seattle TRACON
Type Approach Control
Level Level 10
Airspace & Operations
Hours of Operation 0000-2359 (always open)
Airspace Class Class B
Overlying ARTCC ZSE
Location & Contact
View on full map →
Address 825 S 160th St
Burien, WA 98148
Phone Number 206-214-4600

Salary Information

2026 pay for Seattle TRACON, built from the FAA Air Traffic Specialized Pay Plan bands:

Career Level Hourly Min. Hourly Max. Total Pay Min. Total Pay Max.
CPC $79.02 $106.67 $164,905 $222,621
D3 $67.07 $79.02 $139,967 $164,905
D2 $55.12 $67.07 $115,032 $139,967
D1 $43.17 $55.12 $90,103 $115,032
AG $31.22 $31.22 $65,164 $65,164
Total Pay combines Basic Pay, Locality Pay, and the additions listed under Pay Factors, including this facility's 7% Controller Incentive Pay (how CIP works). It excludes premium pay for overtime, nights, Sundays, and holidays.
Pay Factors
Facility Level Level 10
Locality Area Seattle
Locality Pay 31.57%
Controller Incentive Pay (CIP) 7.00%
Local Affordability
Cost of Living Index 111.1 (11.1% above avg)
Cost-Adjusted CPC Min $148,390
How this pay is calculated
Basic Pay (Level 10 CPC band minimum) $119,005
+ Locality Pay (31.57% of Basic Pay for Seattle) + $37,570
= Adjusted Basic Pay (counts toward your High-3) $156,575
+ Controller Incentive Pay (7% of Basic Pay, not of the locality-adjusted figure) + $8,330
= Total Pay $164,905

Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar, so lines can differ from the total by a dollar or two.

How CIP works

Controller Incentive Pay is a cost-of-living differential under the NATCA contract. It comes from a fixed $30 million yearly pool that has been running out before year-end; when that happens, payments stop until the next fiscal year. It is not retirement-creditable, and at some facilities only controllers on board before a set date receive it.

ATC pay has stalled over the past decade. Marangos & Brown are on a mission to increase pay.

Staffing and Training

Staffing Information, August 2026
CPCs on Board 31 CPCs
CPC Target (CWP) 50 CPCs
Current Staffing 62.00%
↳ Est. Trainee Certifications+ 12.6
↳ Committed Inbounds+ 6
↳ Projected Retirements/Losses- 3.4
↳ Academy Graduates2
↳ CPC-IT 0 (Transfer)4
↳ CPC-IT 1 (Transfer)4
↳ CPC-IT 2 (Transfer)4
↳ CPC-IT 3 (Transfer)1
Training Information, August 2026
Training Time (Avg) 1.73 years
↳ New Hires 2.32 years
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 1.57 years
Training Success Rate (Avg) 84%
↳ New Hires 89%
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 83%
Travel Days from Academy 5 days

Historical Trends

S46 Staffing Percentages

S46 Personnel Counts

S46 Training Metrics

NCEPT

NCEPT manages controller-requested transfers between FAA facilities. See S46 transfer selections on the Transfer Flow Map.

Eligibility & Staffing, August 2026
Staffing Source Non-Academy Sourced
Incentive Award $40,000
↳ Geographical Incentive + $10,000
TSL (One Training Time) 91.38%
Gaining Target 91.38%
Possible Gains 2
Primary Releases Avail. 0
Secondary Releases Avail. 0
Transfer Activity
Releases, Past 3 Yrs 0
↳ Standard 0
↳ Priority/Other 0
Gains, Past 3 Yrs 22
Last Standard Release None in 3+ years

Selections, 2016–2026

Gained 25
Released 11
Net +14
Top Origins BFI (4), A11 (2), EUG (2), PAE (2), ZKC (2)
Top Destinations I90 (2), A90 (1), C90 (1), CLT (1), D01 (1)

Selections by Year, 2016–2026

Demand Trends

NCEPT Priority

Traffic

July 2025 - June 2026 (12 Months)
TRACON Operations 647,641 operations/yr
Average Daily Operations 1,774 operations/day
Peer Group Median
(Lvl 10 TRACON)
484,874 operations/yr
Relative Workload +33.6% vs peer median

Traffic History

Administration

Organizational Structure
Service Area Western
District Seattle
HR Region Northwest Mountain

Nearest Facilities

SEA Seattle Tower FAA 1 mi
BFI Boeing Tower FAA 5 mi
RNT Renton Tower FCT 6 mi
ZSE Seattle ARTCC FAA 13 mi
TIW Tacoma Tower FCT 18 mi
TCM McChord Fld (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) DoD 23 mi
GRF Gray AAF (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) DoD 29 mi
PAE Paine Tower FAA 31 mi
OLM Olympia Tower FCT 43 mi
NUW Whidbey Island NAS (Ault Fld) DoD 64 mi