Seattle to Copenhagen Flights (SEA to CPH): Nonstop Service, Flight Time and Arrival Guide

A nonstop on SAS, plus easy one-stops

Seattle to Copenhagen has a nonstop. As of recent schedules, SAS flies SEA to CPH, connecting the Pacific Northwest directly to its main hub. Frequency can change between summer and winter, so check the calendar for your dates rather than assuming a daily flight. SAS joined the SkyTeam alliance in 2024, so its flights now sit alongside Delta, KLM and Air France for miles and connections.

If the nonstop does not fit, the common one-stop routings are:

• Icelandair via Reykjavik. Icelandair flies Seattle to Keflavik and Keflavik to Copenhagen; the connection is quick and the two legs are close in length.
• Delta, KLM or Air France via Amsterdam or Paris. Delta flies from Seattle to both hubs, and KLM and Air France fly onward to Copenhagen.
• Lufthansa via Frankfurt. Lufthansa flies Seattle to Frankfurt, with short hops on to Copenhagen.
• British Airways via London Heathrow. British Airways flies Seattle to London and on to Copenhagen, though Heathrow transfers can involve a terminal change.

These add three to six hours, so the nonstop is the natural first choice.

Flight time and distance

The great-circle distance between Seattle and Copenhagen is roughly 4,800 miles (about 7,700 km), and the route runs high over Canada, Greenland and the North Atlantic. Eastbound, Seattle to Copenhagen typically takes around nine and a half to ten hours. The westbound return is longer, about ten and a half to eleven hours, because you fly against the prevailing winds.

The eastbound flight leaves Seattle in the afternoon and lands in Copenhagen the next morning. The return leaves Copenhagen in the afternoon and lands in Seattle the same afternoon or early evening, local time.

Leaving from Sea-Tac

Seattle-Tacoma International has one main terminal with concourses A to D and the North and South Satellites, linked by an underground train. International departures often leave from the South Satellite or Concourse A; check your gate and allow time for the train ride. The International Arrivals Facility handles your return.

For a transatlantic flight with checked bags, arrive three hours ahead. The security lines are longest around midday and early afternoon, when European and Asian departures overlap, and the free SEA Spot Saver lets you reserve a time slot at some checkpoints. Link light rail runs from the airport station to downtown Seattle in about 40 minutes.

Arriving at Copenhagen Airport and getting into the city

Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, has a single connected terminal complex, with Terminals 2 and 3 used for most flights. Arriving from the US, you clear Schengen passport control at Copenhagen; the EU's Entry/Exit System records biometrics on your first entry, so the line may take a little longer than you remember.

The airport is only about 8 km from the city centre, and the transport is fast:

• Metro M2. Runs from the airport to Kongens Nytorv, Norreport and other central stations in about 15 minutes, around the clock, every few minutes.
• Regional train. DSB and Oresundstag trains reach Copenhagen Central Station in about 15 minutes, and continue across the bridge to Malmo in Sweden.
• Taxi. 15 to 25 minutes to the centre, from the rank outside Terminal 3.

Tickets for the Metro and trains can be bought on the DOT app or at the machines in the station. Copenhagen is compact, flat and built for bicycles, so many visitors use the bike share or walk once they are in town.

Entry rules for Denmark

Denmark is in the Schengen area. As of recent rules, US passport holders can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa, with a passport valid for at least three months beyond departure and issued within the last ten years. The Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps with a biometric record, and the ETIAS travel authorisation is expected to become mandatory once it launches. Check the Danish immigration service and the EU's official travel pages before you book.

If you plan a day trip to Malmo across the Oresund Bridge, you stay inside Schengen, but carry your passport, because Sweden runs occasional checks.

When to go

May to September is the season Copenhagen is built for: long light evenings, harbour swimming, outdoor dining along Nyhavn and the Tivoli Gardens open. June and July are the peak, with the longest days and the most visitors from the US. Late August and September are quieter and often still warm.

Winter is cold and dark but has its own appeal, with Tivoli's Christmas season and the Danish idea of hygge in every cafe. Fares from Seattle peak in the US summer holidays and around Christmas, and are lowest from January to March and in November. Booking three to five months ahead gives you the best choice on the nonstop for summer; outside summer, six to ten weeks is usually enough.

Time difference and jet lag

Copenhagen is nine hours ahead of Seattle for most of the year. The US and Europe change their clocks on different weekends, so for a week or two in spring and autumn the gap is eight hours.

Eastbound, the overnight flight is short and you land at breakfast time while your body thinks it is late evening. Get outside in daylight, eat on local time and stay awake until a normal Copenhagen bedtime. Westbound, you land in Seattle in the afternoon and can go to bed early, which most people find easier.

What travellers on this route get wrong

The common mistakes are expecting cheap taxis instead of the excellent 24-hour Metro, forgetting that Danish summer evenings are cool even in July, and assuming the nonstop operates every day of the year. Another is packing for rain-free days; Copenhagen weather changes quickly, and a light waterproof is worth more than an extra pair of shoes.