Seattle-Tacoma Air Terminal and Ground Handling Services

United States Transportation Command anticipates procuring Air Terminal and Ground Handling Services supporting Air Mobility Command Gateway Passenger Services at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA-TAC), Washington, with responses to the RFI due by 4:00 p.m. Central Time on September 8, 2026, and an anticipated contract award in June 2027 and performance start of October 1, 2027.

No set-aside is currently planned, though the RFI indicates USTRANSCOM is considering small business set-aside opportunities under NAICS 488119 (Other Airport Operations), which carries a $40 million small business threshold. Place of performance is SEA-TAC, Washington. The contractor must provide an Air Terminal Operations Center staffed 0700–1600 daily, passenger check-in processing, baggage handling (terminal-side operations only), dependent and unaccompanied minor escort services, Military Assistance Counter operations, MICAP cargo handling, and Military Working Dog coordination documentation. The contractor is explicitly not responsible for ramp-side transport, aircraft loading/unloading, baggage tug or belt loader operation, or physical handling of Military Working Dogs—those functions remain with commercial airlift carrier ground handlers. Services must sustain one outbound/originating mission per day, seven days weekly, 365 days annually, with capacity for two missions daily during delays or aborts.

The contractor must comply with NIST SP 800-171 and provide personnel with Tier 1 (general users) and Tier 5 (privileged users) security clearances. General liability insurance of $500,000 per occurrence and employer's liability coverage of $100,000 minimum are required. Historical workload data indicates approximately 24–27 monthly missions with 3,944–6,208 passengers annually and 306–511 pets monthly. The Government will furnish initial 14-day familiarization training, specified IT equipment (eight Dell laptops, printers, credit card machines), materials, and services including FedEx baggage shipment and DSN telephone lines. Contractors must self-train using governing publications, primarily DAFI 24-605. USTRANSCOM will consider both commercial airport and military experience as relevant past performance. No site visit or pre-proposal conference is planned. RFI responses must not exceed 10 pages and should address contract experience with similar workload, lead time requirements, GATES system and military logistics systems experience, Military Working Dog procedures, and operational risk mitigation strategies.