Washington, DC, September 28, 2016 – In a letter to the City of Santa Monica (City), the FAA has announced an investigation into a series of recent actions by the City intended to de facto close the Santa Monica Municipal Airport in advance of the expiration of its 2023 Grant Assurances. The agency’s investigation comes in response to a complaint filed by Atlantic Aviation over the City’s proposal to replace Atlantic with a proprietary Fixed Base Operation (FBO). The City served Atlantic with a 30-day eviction notice on September 15, 2016. NATAfiled in support of Atlantic’s complaint on September 20th stating, “Despite the significant investment and job creation of Atlantic at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), our member company finds itself being used as a catspaw in the City’s ongoing effort to close the airport in advance of the 2023 expiration of the current Grant Assurances.”
The following can be attributed to NATA President Martin H. Hiller:
“NATA deeply appreciates the FAA’s quick response in this matter. The agency’s investigation follows on many of the key points made in our recent filing in support of Atlantic Aviation, particularly that the City’s action is in violation of the ‘fair and reasonableness’ requirement of FAA Grant Assurances and that safety at SMO will be compromised. Like NATA, the agency suspects there is no evidence to suggest that the City will take its obligation seriously to operate an FBO with the requisite knowledge of safe ground handling and fueling operations. Its intention to replace Atlantic with a proprietary, exclusive FBO offering only ‘environmentally friendly’ fuels that are not commercially viable is simply an under-handed attempt to further strangle the airport. We are confident the FAA’s investigation will support our views in this matter.”
