FAA Urges Mesa To Delay Implementation of Potentially Illegal Landing Fees

The FAA is urging the city of Mesa, Arizona, to back off on the July 30 implementation of controversial landing fees at the city-run Falcon Field because it may put the city in violation of grant assurances and raises other legal issues. “The City should be aware that the publicly stated rationale the City has used to develop the new landing fee structure could be problematic and inconsistent with its federal obligations and related FAA policies,” the FAA letter, first obtained by AOPA, says. “As such, the landing fee structure is vulnerable to a challenge under applicable regulations and is being investigated. Consequently, I strongly urge the City to halt implementation until the FAA 14 CFR Part 13 investigations are completed.” It is signed by Michael Helvey, the FAA’s director of Airport Compliance.

The city says it needs the money the fees will raise to keep running the airport, but two flight schools based at Falcon Field claim in a lawsuit that it is cover for the real motive of cutting operations to appease noisy neighbors complaining about their operations. The FAA says that’s worth looking into. “The City’s landing fees structure may unreasonably interfere with, or limit, legitimate aeronautical activities,” Helvey said in his letter. “Any attempt to limit operations or specific types of operations, through landing fees, is not permissible. Further, the City’s unusual landing fee structure has the potential for systemwide impacts and thus must be assessed.” The city wants to give aircraft weighing less than 6,000 pounds 10 free landings a month and then start charging them $20.35 per landing. Transient traffic would be charged $24.35.