Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona [Credit: Shutterstock/Tim Roberts Photography]
Key Takeaways:
Mesa City Council has approved a new $20 per landing fee at Falcon Field (KFFZ), effective May 1, with the goal of generating $2.6 million annually to support airport operations and achieve self-sustainability.
Flight schools at KFFZ strongly oppose the fees, warning they will significantly increase the cost of flight training, negatively impact their businesses, and make pilot certification more expensive, potentially leading to closures or reduced activity.
Concerns were raised about the city's lack of collaboration with affected businesses and the perception that the fees are partly intended to reduce airport activity due to neighbor noise complaints, rather than solely for financial self-sufficiency.
On Tuesday the Mesa City Council voted to adopt landing fees at Falcon Field (KFFZ). According to city officials, the fees could bring in about $2.6 million a year that will be used to support airport operations.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
