Lawsuit regarding Alaska Air, Delta-caused airport pollution moves forward
Nov 27, 2024, 11:23 AM
A passenger wearing a mask walks through the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on March 15, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)
(Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)
A Seattle federal judge has allowed a lawsuit against Alaska Air Group and Delta Airlines over airport pollution to move forward.
The plaintiffs are made up of mostly residents living within a five-mile radius of Seattle Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), claiming rates of cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory disease are higher where they live compared to other areas. The lawyers of the class action lawsuit are calling the approximate five-mile radius the “contamination zone.”
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According to Reuters, the judge rejected arguments from both Alaska Air Group and Delta Airlines. Their claim against the lawsuit cited that federal law governing airline routes and clean air standards pre-empted state law claims by people who live near the airport, according to Reuters.
Alaska Air Group and Delta Airlines argued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have the authority to regulate aircraft emissions in addition to flight paths, runway locations and the design of aircrafts and engines.
“We are carefully reviewing the court’s ruling and next steps,” Delta Airlines told Reuters.
The lawsuit was first filed in April 2023, with residents alleging that the pollution included carbon monoxide, lead and particulate matter, claiming it is linked to hundreds of deaths every year and premature births. The lawsuit, obtained by Reuters, even claimed that soot-like sediment would build up on residents’ roofs, yards and cars within the communities.
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“When planes take off and land from Sea-Tac Airport, the jet fuel they burn spews pollutants into the atmosphere,” the suit stated, according to The Seattle Times. “Particulate matter can also flake off from the bodies of the airplanes themselves during flight, further contaminating the surrounding environment.”
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
