Mon, Sep 21, 2009
FAA Approves First Step In The Process
Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport, the largest in Louisiana, may be leased to a
private management firm. The FAA this week accepted a preliminary
application to allow the city-owned airport to go forward with a
plan to lease the facility to a private operator.
The Associated Press reports that the New Orleans Aviation Board
may now set up a bidding process to select a company to manage the
airport, which could take up to a year. Any contract with a private
operator would then have to be approved by the New Orleans City
Council before being sent to the FAA for federal
approval.
Private management is made possible through a program set up by
Congress in 1997 which allows airports to continue to collect fees
and receive federal grants, but also allows the city to use lease
revenue not needed for airport debt service for non-aviation
purposes. Only Midway Airport in Chicago is currently using the
program, though Congress has made provisions for up to five
airports to participate.
The City of New Orleans has also explored selling the airport to
the state, and AP reports that the state legislature last year
established the Southeast Regional Airport Authority, a nine-member
group charged with determining the airport property's market value,
and which would be the governing authority if that were to
occur.
The board said in a news release that the city would pursue the
private option for now, and that public input would be accepted in
the process. The airport is currently undergoing a $350 million
upgrade, which the city hopes to have completed in time for the
2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
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