Receipt of Federal Funds Obligates Municipalities to Maintain Airports

Municipal and local efforts to close airports can often be derailed if the airport has received funds under the Federal Airport Improvement program.  A recent example, as reported by AOPA, highlights the airport-friendly effects of the program’s strictures.  In a recent victory for a Missouri airport, the FAA denied the City of Saint Clair’s request to close St. Clair Regional Airport (K39).   In its letter to Mayor Ronald Blum, the FAA declined the city’s request to close the airport immediately, citing the city’s failure to abide by the terms of the Federal Airport Improvement Program.  Specifically, the FAA cited the city’s failure to adequately maintain the airport, operational and financial issues, and the recent increase in tenant rental fees.

By agreeing to receive federal funds under the Federal Airport Improvement Program, the city signed a grant assurances contract obligating it to keep the airport open and available for public use as an airport.  The city’s failure to do so has caused it to run afoul of federal program requirements and has invited scrutiny by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.

One tactic often employed by hostile municipalities is to allow an airport to fall into disrepair before attempting to condemn the airport property for redevelopment or municipal use.  If that airport receives federal funds under the program, the municipality may be held to task and disallowed from proceeding under its condemnation plan.  The FAA’s deferment of closure is a small victory for St. Clair Regional Airport, but given the history of animosity between the city and the airport, a protracted legal battle is likely to ensue.