Airports should never copy and paste minimum standards. No two airports are alike in operations or tenants. What works for one airport may lead to a grant assurance violation for another airport.
Drafting Minimum Standards – Minimum standards establish basic expectations for airport users seeking to partake in commercial aeronautical activities. Jetlaw understands the complexities that come with creating minimum standards. Our team of attorneys and advisors helps navigate federal, state, and local laws involved to draft minimum standards that fit the unique profile of your airport.
Implementing Minimum Standards – Minimum standards are an objective mechanism for airports to prevent and resolve problems. Carefully drafted standards help avoid Part 16 complaints by creating specific requirements in the lease and concession agreements. Tenant, constituent, and elected official buy-in can be incredibly important for successfully implementing and enforcing minimum standards.
Adhering to Minimum Standards – Once implemented, airports must consider how to enforce standards, especially during changing circumstances. The Jetlaw team can help you design and implement a plan to apply, monitor, and update minimum standards on a routine basis.
For More Information, Check Out These Resources – Click here to view the FAA’s Airport Compliance Manual, Ch. 10: Reasonable Commercial Minimum Standards.
Jetlaw Explained® Minimum Standards
1. Don’t implement standards that depart from the FAA’s safety and efficiency guidance.
- Arizona (2020): Sponsor violated Grant Assurance 22 by imposing an unreasonable standard restricting solo-skydiving absent an FAA safety assessment that solo skydives were unsafe.
2. Don’t impose standards that users cannot meet in the future.
- Rhode Island Airport Corporation (2022): Sponsor violated Grant Assurance 22 for making recent changes to noise abatement rules and not renewing the tenant’s lease solely because the user breached the new noise rule.
3. Don’t update fee and rate standards before assessing airport circumstances.
- City of Santa Monica, California (2019): Sponsor violated Grant Assurance 22, 24, and 25 after 1,500-foot runway reductions cut jet operations by 80% and nonetheless increased its landing fee using the obsolete baselines.
