NATA Requests Swift Action on Atlantic Aviation Part 16 Santa Monica Complaint

Washington, DC, September 20, 2016 – In a letter today to the FAA, NATA President Martin Hiller called upon the agency to act immediately on the complaint filed last week by Atlantic Aviation over the City of Santa Monica’s proposal to replace Atlantic with a proprietary Fixed Base Operation (FBO). The City served Atlantic with a 30-day eviction notice on September 15, 2016. According to Hiller, “Despite the significant investment and job creation of Atlantic at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), our member company finds itself being used as a catspaw in the City’s ongoing effort to close the airport in advance of the 2023 expiration of the current Grant Assurance.”

Hiller noted that while NATA believes “the public is best served when private enterprise provides FBO services where economically viable,” he also acknowledged that such a situation may not be feasible at every one of the nation’s 5,136 public use airports. However, as evidenced by Atlantic’s ongoing attempts to negotiate a long-term lease at SMO, Hiller asserted, “it is economically viable for private enterprise to provide FBO services at SMO. Rather, the City’s intention to replace Atlantic with a proprietary FBO offering only ‘environmentally friendly’ fuels that are not commercially viable is simply an under-handed attempt to further strangle the airport.”

Hiller also pointed out that the City’s actions are in violation of the “fair and reasonableness” requirement of FAA Grant Assurances and that safety at SMO will be compromised. “NATA member companies, including Atlantic, are committed to managing safe and efficient FBO operations. This commitment requires companies to make ongoing investments in both safety equipment and training…there is no evidence to suggest that the City will take its obligation seriously to operate an FBO with the requisite knowledge of safe ground handling and fueling operations.”  

Hiller concluded, “Given the City’s repeated pronouncements that it seeks to end aviation activity at SMO, it is more than reasonable to suspect any City operated FBO will be managed toward the goal of closing SMO in advance of the Grant Assurances expiration in 2023. The appropriate treatment of aeronautical service providers by landlords is an important one to the entire aviation community and the agency’s actions in this matter will no doubt be closely watched.”