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The ability to pivot is essential in the aviation industry, especially if you are operating an airline or an airport. This can mean finding alternative ways to get jet fuel to the fleet if the normal means are shut down temporarily.
Last week airports and airlines on the West Coast learned of a leak in the Olympic Pipeline, which is operated by BP Pipelines North America. The pipeline is a 400-mile system that runs from Whatcom County, Washington, down to Portland, Oregon, and is used to transport refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
According to a spokesperson from the company, the Olympic Pipeline system is currently shut down.
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The system consists of two pipelines at the release location, one 16-inch pipeline and one 20-inch pipeline.
How It Began
On November 11, BP received a report of a sheen in a drainage ditch on a farm in Snohomish County, Washington. The exact location of the leak and the amount of fuel spilled have not been determined, although crews are working around the clock to locate and repair it.
“Responders have deployed boom and oil recovery equipment to contain and clean up the released product,” a BP spokesperson said. “As of today, no product has been observed outside of the response area.”
The company notified state officials of the leak and is working with state, tribal, and federal partners on containment, cleanup, and repair.
The pipeline provides jet fuel for both Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA) and Portland International Airport (KPDX), and there were concerns that the lack of fuel delivered by pipeline would have a negative effect on Thanksgiving holiday travel.
On November 19, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared an emergency as a result of the shutdown.
The emergency proclamation “temporarily waives and suspends state regulations limiting the number of hours commercial motor vehicle operators can drive when transporting jet fuel, while ensuring that safe-driving measures are in place. The proclamation ensures adequate fuel supplies can be delivered to SEA Airport while the Olympic Pipeline remains offline.”
“We are in close communication with our state and federal partners,” Ferguson said. “This declaration will help the airport maintain its fuel supply while the pipeline is offline and limit disruptions to travelers.”
The airlines responded to the announcement by enacting contingency plans to ensure no disruption in travel. Among the actions taken is bringing in jet fuel by tanker truck.
“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,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement to FLYING. “We remain in close communication with Olympic Pipeline, refineries, and our airport partners and will communicate if we begin to see operational impacts.”
Delta Air Lines also supplied a statement: “Delta is closely monitoring the status of repairs to the Olympic Pipeline and has issued a waiver to provide customers with flexibility in case we need to make schedule adjustments.”
Added Perry Cooper, media relations manager at Sea-Tac: “From our end, we have not seen impacts here in operations or at the terminal. The airlines have done a good job of staying in contact with travelers who may be affected.”
Cooper also said that the airlines are responsible for the management of the fuel and infrastructure of the fuel system at the airport.
Airline passengers on international flights are encouraged to check in with their airlines to see if their flights have been changed due to the pipeline issue.
Impact on Portland
The terminal for the Olympic Pipeline is near Portland, but according to Molly Prescott, aviation communications and media relations manager for KPDX, the airport is not currently experiencing a disruption, though it has a plan in place.
“Our airline partners manage aircraft jet fueling at the airport, and we are communicating regularly with them on this circumstance,” Prescott told FLYING. “In Portland, airlines can barge in jet fuel for aircraft operating at PDX, whereas this is not an option for Sea-Tac.”
