Two flight schools based at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Arizona, have filed a joint FAA Part 13 complaint challenging the city’s planned landing fee program, scheduled to begin collecting landing data for billing purposes Aug. 1. The complaint was filed by CAE Aviation Academy and Thrust Flight and asks the FAA to review whether the fee structure complies with federal airport obligations, grant assurances and safety requirements.
Schools Raise Training Concerns
Thrust Flight CEO Patrick Arnzen said that, in addition to the federal action, the schools are also pursuing a separate local lawsuit.
“We filed the FAA Part 13 complaint because this issue goes way beyond one airport or one fee,” Arnzen said. “Increased costs could eventually fall on the students and that matters. But an equal and potentially even bigger concern is what happens to training quality and long-term safety when airports start discouraging the repetition pilots need to become truly proficient.”
Arnzen said the Part 13 complaint alleges Mesa violated its federal grant assurances. He said the schools believe the fee program is tied to noise complaints from nearby residents, and that landing fees are being used as a vehicle to address those concerns. Arnzen said the Part 13 complaint could ultimately become a Part 16 complaint, the FAA’s formal process for certain complaints involving federally assisted airports.
Thrust believes the Falcon Field fees could cost the school more than $500,000 in the first year, and likely more in the future as the operation grows. Arnzen said Thrust has invested about $5.5 million in its Falcon Field location, which opened last year, and said the school would not have made that investment had it known landing fees were being considered.
Mesa Defends Fees
Mesa has rejected the schools’ claims and said it intends to move forward with the program after completing work on the landing fee system. The city said the fees are intended to support Falcon Field’s operating costs and long-term financial sustainability.
“The City believes the lawsuit lacks legal merit and does not justify delaying the landing fee program,” the city said in a statement. “The City will continue to defend the legality and necessity of the landing fees, which are intended to help cover the costs of operating, maintaining, and improving Falcon Field Airport and to support the Airport’s long-term financial sustainability.”
Mesa said it plans to activate the landing fee collection system on July 30 and begin collecting landing data for billing purposes Aug. 1. Falcon Field had previously delayed the program from its original May 1 rollout while work continued on the tracking and billing system.
Mesa Gateway Airport, which previously announced a separate landing fee for itinerant fixed-wing aircraft under 12,500 pounds, has also delayed implementation and has said its program is tied to whether Falcon Field begins collecting its fee.
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