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Court sides with Burien in battle over Sea-Tac flight paths

Published  December 11, 2019 8:31am PST
Associated Press

Court sides with Burien in battle over Sea-Tac flight paths

Burien has won a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration aimed at forcing the redrawing of a flight path at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.



BURIEN, Wash. -- Burien has won a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration aimed at forcing the redrawing of a flight path at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The Seattle Times reported the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month in favor of the city of Burien, west of the airport.

In response to rapid growth at the airport, officials re-routed some shorter flights headed to places like Portland and Boise to make room in the skies for bigger planes.

The problem is that those smaller turbo prop planes fly lower and relatively slow.

The 2018 lawsuit contended the FAA did not properly consider the environmental impact of routing some planes in a narrow band over the city of Burien.

A federal court agreed.

The FAA declined comment except to say the agency is reviewing the court’s decision.