NFL Not Charged For Overtime, Other Enhanced Services During The Week

EAA is investigating reports that increased staffing and equipment for air traffic operations in the New York metropolitan area during Super Bowl XLVIII were not subject to event reimbursements, similar to those assessed during EAA AirVenture 2013 last summer.

EAA said in a news release posted on its website that has been working in good faith based on the FAA's official ATO guidance, which states that the Super Bowl/NFL, NASCAR and other major aviation events will all reimburse the agency for air traffic control costs such as overtime, backfill costs, and so forth. In 2013, FAA officials told EAA those costs were the reason AirVenture was required to pay an assessment for ATC support at Oshkosh.

The FAA demanded a $450,000 fee from the EAA last summer for ATC services for AirVenture, which has led to lengthy legal maneuverings over the past several months. Other, smaller shows have also been charged for ATC services provided by the FAA, and organizers of the Light Sport Expo at Sebring last month hired a private firm to handle air traffic control for their show rather than pay the FAA's fees. However, that company told ANN that the FAA will not allow it to step in where there is an operational FAA control tower. Sebring is normally an uncontrolled airport.

In a Petition for Review filed in December, EAA is seeking a return of all money paid for ATC services and a declaration that the FAA may not seek payment from EAA for these services in the future. More specifically and according to the brief, EAA posits that these 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 the 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 EAA was the product of duress.

The fact that the FAA did not charge the NFL for the Super Bowl may help bolster their argument.

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