Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines are embroiled in a lawsuit over air pollution at Seattle-Tacoma Airport

A class action lawsuit over environmental pollution Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) named the Port of Seattle, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines as defendants. Plaintiffs Cindy Codoni and Michelle Geer claim that the pollution negatively affected them and that the airlines are responsible.

The lawsuit

The plaintiffs are primarily property owners within a five-mile radius of the airport, which they refer to as a “contamination zone.” More than 300,000 residents live in the zone.

Alaska Airlines aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport SEA Shutterstock_1574673760

Photo: VDB photos | Shutterstock

They claim that the pollution has resulted in physical harm, deaths and property damage. Claims include negligence, personal injury, continued willful trespass and public nuisance. The lawsuit also claims that environmental pollution “Caused by aircraft in Sea-Tac results in hundreds of additional deaths in the contamination zone each year.”

According to court documents, the lawsuit continued after U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead denied the airline’s motion to dismiss. Steve Berman, a lawyer for the company that filed the lawsuit, told Reuters that was the case “A first step toward environmental justice for this class.”

According to the lawsuit, originally filed last April, the plaintiffs singled out Alaska Airlines And Delta Air Lines because they supposedly operate around 80% of flights at the airport and therefore cause the most pollution. It claims that the airlines have contaminated their country:

“…containing dangerously high levels of contamination, including, but not limited to, levels of magnesium, aluminum, iron, copper, zinc, arsenic, silver and lead at concentrations exceeding OSHA limits.”

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-900 on the ground at SEA Shutterstock_2482422671

Photo: Ian Dewar Photography | Shutterstock

Additionally, the following is claimed:

People living in the contamination zone are hospitalized for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease at higher rates than other King County residents.
Babies born in the contamination zone are more likely to be premature and have lower birth weights than babies born elsewhere in the county.
People in the zone have a shorter life expectancy at birth than other King County residents.
Residents of the zone are also more likely to die from cancer, heart disease and chronic lower respiratory diseases.

Unfortunately, the population living in the contamination zone is likely to be ethnic minorities and members of low-income households, with more than 30% living 200% below the federal poverty level. This has created a David versus Goliath narrative surrounding the lawsuit.

What does the defense say?

The airlines and the Port Authority argue that these government claims are barred because the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alone have the authority to regulate flight routes and runway locations, aircraft designs, engines and emissions.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER rises from the sea

Photo: Joe Kunzler | Easy flying

According to Judge Whitehead, a judge appointed by President Joe Biden, the airline’s arguments assume that the companies are complying with federal regulations, including emissions standards approved by the EPA. In his dismissal he wrote:

“Ultimately, however, the court cannot decide whether the airline defendants complied with the FAA and EPA orders in this filing. To do this, the court would have to make factual findings.”

It is unclear what the next steps will be for airlines. Simple Flying has reached out to both Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines for comment on this matter.