“Exploding” Stumptown Coffee burns Alaska Airlines flight attendant mid-flight

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Portland-based Stumptown Coffee has a history of exploding at high altitudes and burned an Alaska Airlines flight attendant in 2024, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

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The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Victoria Waldron, alleges she was badly burned on an Alaska Airlines flight about 30 minutes before landing in Phoenix on April 1, 2024.

Waldron said she was pregnant at the time and that the coffee burned her chest and several other areas of her body.

She said she has had permanent scarring since the incident, causing emotional distress, and may need further surgery to address the issue.

According to court documents, at least nine other flight attendants had been burned in similar incidents prior to her injury and that the coffee packaging is to blame.

The Association of Flight Attendants union and Waldron’s attorneys claim Stumptown failed to design, test or validate its packaging at high altitudes.

The suit goes on to claim that, prior to December 2023, Alaska served Starbucks coffee that did not have similar issues.

Alaska and Stumptown announced the partnership in a press release in October 2023.

The lawsuit also alleges Alaska Airlines contacted Stumptown about the complaints no later than Feb. 20, 2024, and that Stumptown failed to take action.

The lawsuit does not seek a specific monetary amount but requests a jury trial and damages for, among other things, physical pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, medical expenses, and lost earnings.

The suit was filed by the Choate Law Firm in Juneau, Alaska, and filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle.

KATU has reached out to Stumptown Coffee for comment on the lawsuit.