Seeks Relief For Forced Payment Related To ATC Activities At Wittman Regional Airport During AirVenture

The EAA has filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for review of the FAA's actions in demanding payment for Air Traffic Control services at AirVenture in 2013.

In the petition, the EAA asks the court to review whether the FAA failed to provide a rational basis for its demand for payment; if the FAA had statutory authority to impose fees on EAA for ATC services; if such fees constitute an unlawful user fee; and if the imposition of fees violated the Separation of Powers doctrine.

In the petition, the EAA asks the court to require that the FAA return all money for ATC services, and for a declaration that the FAA may not seek payment for such services in the future. The EAA asserts that the FAA did not seek public comment prior to imposing the fees, and did not document any deliberative process. "It mearly announced its determination to charge these fees to EAA and then entertained minor adjustments to the amount charged and some of the language in the agreement."

EAA said in the documents filed with the court that the charges are unlawful because Congress has not authorized the FAA to impose fees for these services. "To the contrary, ATC services are funded through excise taxes, and Congress has explicitly prohibited FAA from imposing user fees. Even if the FAA could legally demand payment from EAA for ATC services, it failed to honor proper administrative procedures and the agreement reached with the EAA was the product of duress."

FMI: www.ca7.uscourts.gov, www.eaa.org, www.faa.gov