SEATAC, Wash. – There will be no more Christmas trees at Sea-Tac Airport this season after the Port of Seattle received at least one complaint about them.
For more than 25 years, the airport has celebrated the holidays with Christmas trees over its entrances. But overnight, the Port of Seattle ordered all 15 trees removed.
The Port allowed "holiday" decorations to remain but decided to take down all the Christmas trees after a Seattle rabbi complained they were offensive.
The Port of Seattle says it had little choice. It says the Seattle rabbi with the Central Organization for Jewish Learning hired a lawyer and threatened to sue if the airport did not erect an eight-foot menorah to balance the message of the Christmas trees.
An airport spokeswoman says the two sides could not reach an agreement before the lawsuit was to be filed. So the trees were removed instead.
KOMO-TV reported that upset airport workers have started a campaign urging people to call the Port of Seattle to complain.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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