(The Center Square) – The ongoing shutdown of the Olympic Pipeline due to a leak has not impacted holiday travel at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), despite Delta Airlines warning long-haul passengers about potential schedule adjustments.
The Olympic Pipeline is the major jet fuel supplier for SEA and other terminal sites in Tacoma; Vancouver, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. The leak was discovered on Nov. 11 during routine maintenance between the cities of Everett and Snohomish.
The pipeline remains shut down as the investigation continues into Monday. According to Christina Audisho, BP’s deputy head of U.S. media affairs, more than 200 feet of pipeline have been excavated to date.
With the system still offline, Delta Airlines has warned international long-haul travelers that the limited fuel supply could trigger schedule changes.
Port of Seattle Spokesperson Perry Cooper said the airport has not seen major impacts at this time, noting that airlines are responsible for transporting fuel to SEA while the airport manages only the on-site infrastructure at the airfield.
For Thanksgiving travelers, that means no terminal impacts. According to Cooper, security wait times are ranging between seven to 12 minutes, with occasional peaks of 15 to 20 minutes for short periods.
“On-site there’s not much visible impact as the airlines do a good job of alerting travelers to changes before they get to the airport,” Cooper emailed The Center Square. He added that SEA’s status as an “origination and destination airport” helps minimize disruptions, since most flights start or end in Seattle.
“That’s about 70% – compare this to other airports like Denver, Chicago, or Atlanta that have the opposite where they have 70-80% of their flights are connecting flights,” Cooper said. “SEA doesn’t see the backup at ticket counters connecting airports would when travelers get interrupted by a change in their connecting flight.”
Alaska Airlines, SEA’s largest carrier, said it does not expect holiday-week disruptions and has implemented contingency plans. Those include tankering in fuel on inbound flights to Seattle, assessing tech stop options along certain routes to conserve fuel, and maintaining trucking operations to bring in additional fuel supply.
Earlier this month, Gov Bob Ferguson issued an emergency proclamation temporarily waiving state limits on the number of hours commercial motor vehicle operators can drive when transporting jet fuel.
On Nov. 21, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., posted a letter addressed to BP North America CEO Murray Auchincloss demanding details on repair plans, leak detection, and inspection procedures. She noted that SEA generates $17 billion in revenue for the region and supports more than 170,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“All of this activity depends on the ability of over 1,000 airplanes to take off and land each day – which requires reliable access to fuel. It will take 90 trucks in a 24-hour period to deliver even half of the fuel the airport needs,” Cantwell said in the letter.
BP does not currently have a timeline for restarting the pipeline.
