SEATTLE — Multiple airlines told KOMO News they did not have any flight disruptions on Saturday, despite not having fuel from the Olympic Pipeline all week after it was shut down due to a leak east of Everett.
Alaska, Delta, and American Airlines all stated they had no flights that were impacted by the fuel supply at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a notion that Governor Bob Ferguson and Senator Maria Cantwell both stressed could come to a head this weekend if the pipeline wasn’t reopened.
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Throughout all of Saturday, according to FlightAware, there were 10 flights that were cancelled at SEA, none of which were directly tied to the fuel supply.
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson wrote in a statement that “We do not expect disruption to our operation through the Thanksgiving travel week.”
The statement continues to say:
To ensure our scheduled service is maintained without significant disruption, we have implemented contingency plans, which include fuel management strategies such as tankering in fuel on inbound flights to Seattle, assessing tech stop options along certain routes to conserve fuel, and maintaining and expanding our trucking operation to bring in additional fuel supply.
A Delta spokesperson echoed a similar message, saying they’re taking steps to make sure there are no impacts to customers by “transporting extra fuel via tanker trucks to supplement fuel reserves.”
American Airlines wrote in a brief statement that “We’ve had no operational impact and continue monitoring the situation closely.”
British Petroleum (BP), which operates the Olympic Pipeline, said that they had excavated nearly 200 feet of the pipeline as of Saturday but had still not located the leak’s origin, up from the “over 100 feet” they had excavated as of Friday evening.
A spokesperson stated that there is still no timeline for the two pipelines’ restoration of service, and says in the meantime, they are working around the clock.
They added that crews are still assessing how much product spilled out from the leak.
The Washington Department of Ecology, which has been working at the site since Nov. 11, told KOMO News in a statement that so far there have been no reports of impacts to wildlife or the nearby Snohomish River.
The department continued that they’re using a vacuum truck and absorbent materials to clean up the contaminated soil and contain the fuel to just the originally impacted area.
BP has maintained through communication with KOMO News that “no product has been observed outside of the response area.”
Senator Maria Cantwell, sending a terse letter to BP, demanded answers to a slew of questions about transparency and accountability for the leak by Monday, Nov. 24.
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