The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is in the early stages of an investigation to determine whether requirements that accompany federal funds have been violated at Westchester County Airport. The FAA has issued a “Letter of Investigation” that requires the county to provide information the FAA will use to help determine whether there has been a violation.
If the FAA finds that the airport is violating the requirements that must be met by recipients of federal funds for airports, it is expected that the airport would be given a limited time period to rectify the situation. If there has been a violation that is not resolved to the FAA’s satisfaction, millions of dollars in federal funding for the airport might be in jeopardy.
According to Nicholas Hartman, chairman of the county’s Airport Advisory Board, when the airport receives federal money from the FAA it comes with grant assurances that include “a whole list of things that the airport must do or not do in order to stay in compliance with those. There’s a particular grant assurance called ’22 a and b’ which is at issue here.”
Hartman said the grant assurance at issue says that an airport cannot discriminate against one type of operator over another. He said that using pricing including a sudden change in price on a party has previously been determined as a method of discrimination. Another provision that must be complied with by recipients of federal airport grant funding is that services must be provided at reasonable rates.
Hartman said that the FAA received complaints when a fixed base operator (FBO) at Westchester County Airport, Million Air, notified owners and operators of light general aviation aircraft that are based at its FBO of an impending increase that would more than double the monthly fees they are charged for keeping their aircraft at the FBO. The monthly rate for housing a light general aviation aircraft was going to rise from $375 to $800.
Million Air serves light general aviation airplanes such as two- and four-seat Cessnas and Pipers as well as large airplanes including corporate jets.
“The FAA has issued a ‘Letter of Investigation’ to the county on this and to the county as the airport sponsor,” Hartman said. “Even though the actions are by Million Air … the county as the airport sponsor is accountable to the FAA for ensuring that the grants assurances are met.”
April Gasparri, executive director of aviation at the airport said that when airport personnel learned of the price increase by Million Air, they immediately met with its management and reached an agreement for the new pricing to be cut to $600 with a gradual rise to an $800 monthly price by Oct. 2026.
Monthly tie-down costs for light general aviation aircraft at the airport in Danbury, Connecticut, are about $160 and at the Bridgeport airport are as low as $60.
The aviation organization AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association), which is based in Washington and represents about 400,000 pilots and aircraft owners, took a position on the matter in a letter to Gasparri.
“While the County’s analysis of fees is ongoing, we trust that the airport takes seriously its obligation to ensure that the fees set by FBOs are fair, reasonable, and justified relative to those services and expenses rendered to tie-down tenants,” AOPA Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins wrote. “As you know, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant assurance 22 – Economic Nondiscrimination, requires sponsors to make the airport available for public use on reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination to all types, kinds, and classes of aeronautical activities.”
Collins suggested that the county should consider setting up a facility that it controls that would solely serve operators of light general aviation (GA) aircraft based at Westchester and transient small aircraft.
“Reasonably priced, basic tie-down space for such operators would serve to ensure access for light GA while freeing up the FBOs to dedicate more of their limited infrastructure to operators desiring the added services,” Collins said.
More than five years ago, Westfair’s Westchester County Business Journal was shown conceptual plans for just such a county-operated light general aviation facility. The idea was to locate it in the northwest portion of the airport where there would be spaces for keeping small planes, a fueling station and amenities for pilots and their passengers. However, the possible project was not pursued.
