The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) expressed\ndisappointment with a recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decision\nthat allows the town of East Hampton, NY to use airport funds to pay for legal\nfees stemming from its unsuccessful effort to impose access restrictions at\nEast Hampton Airport (HTO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBAA, in an appeal to the FAA of an administrative decision\nreleased in 2018, had maintained \u2013 and continues to maintain \u2013 that the town\u2019s\nuse of airport revenue to pay for its legal fees is contrary to agency\nprecedent, is bad policy, and is at odds with congressional instructions. On\nJuly 23, 2020, the FAA released a final decision which found this\nmisappropriation of funds by the town of East Hampton to be permissible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are disappointed with the FAA\u2019s decision,\u201d said NBAA\nPresident and CEO Ed Bolen. \u201cOperators at HTO were effectively double-charged\nin the fight for their right to use the airport. The town of East Hampton\nsignificantly raised the landing fees at HTO to generate additional revenue, at\nthe same time that it was incurring the legal expenses associated with\ndefending the unauthorized restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The underlying litigation responded to an attempt by the\ntown of East Hampton to impose a series of noise and access restrictions at\nHTO. Ultimately, the federal courts agreed with NBAA and local aviation\noperators that the restrictions violated federal requirements, and they have\nsince been lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its appeal to the FAA, NBAA emphasized that East Hampton had\nbeen advised by its own counsel that the proposed restrictions were illegal,\nand that prior federal guidance had made clear that airport revenue can be used\nonly for the benefit of an airport. NBAA stated that \u201cthe town had an explicit\nanti-airport and bad-faith agenda. The town openly refused to utilize the\nopportunities provided by, much less comply with, the applicable federal laws\u201c\u2026\nthe FAA is unlikely to ever have before it, in its own words, a clearer\n\u2018unique\u2019 case of the \u2018abuse\u2019 of airport accounts to fund impermissible legal\nexpenditures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n