Welcome to the April 2026 edition of the APA Approach!
Thanks to everyone who joined us for our first combined Day Trip and Camping Weekend at Grapevine Airstrip. Although the weather was unseasonably warm, even for Arizona, we had a great turnout. Leanne Tawoda and Mike McCann served a great breakfast for the Day Trip crew, and we enjoyed our usual potluck dinner and a movie for those that stayed over for the camping on Saturday night. It was great to see so many new faces and we had two families make the trip from California with their kids for the weekend. They certainly had a great time, and it made all the effort APA puts into these events well worth it. Our last Grapevine Camping Weekend for this season is scheduled for April 17-19. However, we will be keeping an eye on the forecast temperatures so please keep an eye on our Facebook page for any schedule updates.
By now I’m sure everyone is aware that the Mesa City Council voted to approve the updated schedule of Fees and Charges for Falcon Field Airport effective May 1st, including landing fees, which is of course disappointing. We had a good turnout from Falcon Field tenants, flight schools, and the general aviation community that uses the airport, and there were many individuals, businesses, and organizations, including the APA, which requested to speak prior to the city council vote. Although the vast majority of those who spoke opposed the proposal, the city council quickly moved to approve the fees through a unanimous vote. The city attorney was careful to state at the beginning of the meeting that the fee proposal was solely based on ensuring the airport was financially self-sustaining and not an attempt to reduce aircraft noise and traffic, which is illegal. The residents who supported the proposal were also careful to echo that justification. However, their social media group posts and city council communications to the residents prior to the publication of the original fee proposal last December tell a different story.
As you may recall, one of the recommendations from AOPA, APA, and the Aviation Safety Advisory Group (ASAG) was to establish a Falcon Field Advisory board consisting of residents, airport tenants/users, and businesses to address concerns about user collaboration and financial transparency in developing the landing fee methodology and proposal. This recommendation was dismissed based on the city’s view that the city council, in conjunction with airport management, is fully capable of adequately managing the airport and its impact on the community. As a point of reference, the City of Mesa has twenty-three community advisory boards and committees “that allow residents to participate in local governance and provide input on various policies and services.” Yet they declined to set one up for the Airport. Disappointing.
So, what happens now? The city Department of Innovation & Technology is leading the procurement process for landing fee collection services and will make a recommendation by the middle of April. I’m sure there will be a lot of questions related to how the landing fee program will work, including billing, collections, and exemptions. I’m confident the landing fee program will be challenged through an FAA Part 13 or Part 16 complaint and/or civil litigation from aviation organizations, airport users, or businesses—particularly the flight schools. More to come on this front.
As this edition of the newsletter goes to print, we have also learned that the Mesa Gateway Airport Authority (MGAA) has voted to implement a landing fee of $24.35/landing for transient aircraft weighing less than 12,500 lbs MGLW beginning May 1st. Based aircraft will be exempt from landing fees. As noted in the MGAA letter to Phoenix area flight training schools, this fee change was driven by financial considerations related to a $2M airfield cost center operating deficit and the impact of the fees imposed by Falcon Field on other regional airports. As the MGAA letter also noted “the implementation of a landing fee for aircraft weighing less than 6,000 lbs MGLW represents a major environmental shift for aviation in greater Phoenix.” We certainly agree with this statement and the reality is that these decisions set a broad precedent for general aviation nationwide.
AOPA, APA, and ASAG have also been working to ensure that Arizona House Bill 2210 is signed into law, which aims to prevent collecting fees from aircraft owners and operators using ADS-B. All these organizations testified in support of HB2210 during the Senate Appropriations/Transportation/Technology committee held on March 10th. The bill received a “Do Pass” recommendation from the committee with a party line vote and has been moved to the Senate Consent Calendar. If it passes without amendment, it will go to the Governor for signature. In the interim, we will continue working with the legislature to gain bipartisan support and ensure it is signed into law. Watch our Facebook page for updates on this important legislation.
Just a quick reminder to save the date for the APA Annual Membership Meeting scheduled for Saturday, May 16th. The meeting will be held at Highlands Church, 9050 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you for supporting APA’s mission through your membership and please feel free to reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any comments, concerns or questions.
Fly Safe,
Chris