The city of Mesa has been named in a federal lawsuit filed by two flight schools — CAE Aviation Academy and Thrust Flight Properties — challenging the implementation of landing fees at Falcon Field Airport.
Small planes will pay roughly $20-$24 to land at Falcon Field while larger planes will pay a landing fee based on weight. The lawsuit seeks to stop the city from implementing and collecting the landing fees.
“Thrust Flight and another flight school jointly filed both an FAA Part 13 complaint and a civil lawsuit because Mesa’s landing fee program creates serious safety, financial and fairness concerns for flight training at Falcon Field,” Patrick Arnzen, Thrust Flight CEO, former airline pilot and designated pilot examiner, said in an email.
