The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Southern Region reviewed allegations made by Blue Line Aviation that the Johnston County Airport Authority, owner and operator of the Johnston County Airport (JNX), violated its Federal Grant Assurance obligations. Airports that are Federally Funded are subject to certain requirements to protect the investment of public dollars. The Johnston County Airport was found to be in violation of those requirements by discriminating against Blue Line Aviation.
In a letter to the Airport Authority dated February 6, 2023, the FAA completed the review and found that the Johnston County Airport Authority did not meet the FAA’s standard of compliance with regard to Grant Assurance 22 (Economic Nondiscrimination) and Grant Assurance 23 (Exclusive Rights).
The letter states “…by failing to enforce the updated rules and regulations consistently, the airport has thereby granted an exclusive use and an economic advantage to Triangle Aviation Solutions Corporation over potential competitors…” The letter comes more than a year after the complaint was initially filed with the North Carolina Division of Aviation, part of the NC Department of Transportation.
The Johnston County Airport Authority has been the subject of multiple lawsuits and FAA complaints related to alleged mistreatment of Blue Line Aviation and Adventist World Aviation, amongst other groups.
Trey Walters, founder of Blue Line Aviation says “It is good to see the system work. It feels great to have the FAA validate what we have been saying for over a year. The Johnston County Airport Authority has acted improperly and discriminated against Blue Line. We hope that they immediately cease this behavior so we can move forward productively. We stand ready to work with County management and State Officials to make sure this discrimination never happens again.”
JNX is a federally-obligated general aviation airport in central North Carolina. JNX has received $8,852,997 in Airport Improvement Program funding through sub grant awards through NCDOA since 2003 and receives an estimated average of $2 million in grant funding each year to support additional growth.
