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FAA urges Mesa to delay implementation of landing fees due to federal lawsuit
The city of Mesa is pushing back against an FAA request to pause new landing fees at Falcon Field. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean learns how the fees are impacting flight schools and residents.
MESA, Ariz. - The battle over the skies above Mesa is heating up as residents continue to voice concerns about the constant hum of flight school training loops coming from Falcon Field. But an attempt to curb the traffic with new landing fees has sparked a federal lawsuit, and now the Federal Aviation Administration is urging the city to hold off.
Local perspective:
Mesa residents like Kristi Murphy say their daily lives are being disrupted by constant touch-and-go flights from nearby Falcon Field.
"Over the last 18 months or so, it has gotten unbearable," Murphy said. "We set up a really nice area in the backyard, we have family over on Sundays, and we couldn’t even watch one game outside. I take care of my grandkids frequently, and they’re one and three, and they can’t sleep."
Other neighbors, like Gus Palmisano, are pointing to a 2023 Environmental Protection Agency ruling that found lead emissions from piston-engine aircrafts endanger public health.
"It’s already been determined from the EPA that this is a problem when you have repetitive, industrial-scale training going on at an airport with the same loops, over the same homes, over the same schools, over and over again," Palmisano said.
By the numbers:
Earth Justice ranked Falcon Field 15th in the country in a 2021 ranking of U.S. airports when it came to the use of lead fuels.
The backstory:
In March, the Mesa City Council voted unanimously to impose landing fees on flight schools to help cover airport operating costs. But that prompted a federal lawsuit from two of those schools: CAE Aviation and Thrust Flight Properties.
The lawsuit claims the city's vote was hasty and unwarranted. Because flight students must perform repeated landings per session, the schools argue a $20 fee per touchdown is financially crippling and claim federal aviation law preempts the city from enforcing it.
The lawsuit even prompted the FAA to step in, asking Mesa to delay the fees until the litigation is settled.
What they're saying:
When asked for a reaction to the FAA request, Palmisano remained supportive of the fees.
"My reaction to that, is it’s the cost of doing business, period," Palmisano said. "I have been a small business owner for most of my life here in Arizona, when things go up, you make adjustments."
Palmisano also says he's spoken with professional appraisers who say they'll take the airport into account when evaluating homes nearby, similar to how they would evaluate a home near a highway or some other noise-producing environment.
Dig deeper:
The city of Mesa is holding firm, saying in a statement that the lawsuit lacks legal merit and does not justify delaying the landing fee program.
Those fees are currently set to go into effect on August 1.
What we don't know:
Inquiries were made to both CAE Aviation and Thrust Flight Properties, but responses have not yet been received.
What's next:
As for the lead exposure concerns, there is already a federal plan in place to phase out leaded aviation gas nationwide by 2030.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Kristi Murphy, Gus Palmisano, a 2023 EPA ruling, the Mesa City Council, court documents from a federal lawsuit filed by CAE Aviation and Thrust Flight Properties, the FAA, and an official statement from the city of Mesa.