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.

FMI: www.legis.louisiana.gov/boards/board_members.asp?board=882