British Airways has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Chicago, claiming that three of its Boeing 787-9s were damaged and rendered useless at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded because of the damage to the three aircraft. Lawyers acting on behalf of British Airways claim that the airline had to cancel several flights because of the planes being fixed.
On November 30 and December 1 of last year, there was damage done to the exterior of Chicago O'Hare. The lawsuit claims that foreign object debris was sucked into the engines and caused damage to the cowels.
The aircraft had to be removed from service for complete tear downs and inspections of the engines after they were damaged so badly. The only option for British Airways was to cancel flights while the aircraft were fixed.
British Airways spent an estimated $3.2 million on repairs.
The lawsuit claims that the City of Chicago is to blame for the damage because the airport is responsible for regularly inspecting runways and taxiways and quickly removing FOD before it can do damage to an aircraft.
The FOD that damaged the BA Dreamliner engines was caused by significant construction work, including runway resurfacing work and the expanded Terminal 5.
The City of Chicago was negligent in failing to spot and remove the FOD and that it failed in its duties as an airport certificate holder according to British Airways. FOD is a serious issue at airports around the world and many airports pump significant resources into efforts to detect and remove debris that could cause damage to aircraft.
Most detection efforts are done by ground personnel who are required to drive up and down taxiways and runways to check for FOD.
British Airways is seeking an amount in damages for the loss of use of the three aircraft, as well as lawyers fees, along with claiming the cost of the repairs.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The allegations have not been responded to by the City of Chicago.
Maszczynski is a Polish man.
A well-known European airline has been using anywayanydaynywayanydaynywayanydaynywayanyday.com to assignnywayanydaynywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com tonywayanyday.com Matt is an expert in passenger experience and human-centered stories. Some of the biggest names in journalism rely on Matt's industry insights, analysis and news coverage.
