MESA — New landing fees that are going into effect on May 1, at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa have flight schools worried and residents still rankled the measure doesn’t go far enough. 

The fees are the latest clash in an ongoing squabble between the flight school and residents who have long complained about the racket the planes make. 

Flight instructors and their students are worried about the rising costs. Meanwhile, nearby residents say the changes are long overdue. 

Advocates for the flight schools say these fees will destroy local businesses.

The newer planes, while quieter than older planes, can still be heard — and felt — rumbling in nearby communities.

If a student pays $17,000 for flight school, and has to complete 200 touch-and-gos at $20 per landing, it adds an additional $4,000 increase toward their tuition. 

“The airport management does not think outside the box,” said Steve Adams, pilot and owner of Nacho Offroad Lighting. “They do not think about creative ways to solve their budget or the noise issue. Instead, they’re going to just crush all small businesses at Falcon.” 

Another point of contention has been whether Mesa taxpayers should foot the bill for airport maintenance, including runway improvements or should it be paid for by the pilots and flight schools that utilize the airport.

The landing fees are not for noise abatement, according to officials. City officials said revenue from the landing fees will be used for the upkeep of Falcon Field. 

“I just hope that the landing fees can be reevaluated and relooked at,” said Greg Hadley, owner of Simplifly Flight School. “As a business owner here, I already pay land lease fees, tie down fees, fuel flowage fees. There’s a lot of fees that we already pay here, and we enjoy being here. But, I’ve got a feeling, ultimately, it’s not going to pan out the way the city is hoping.”

Local resident Robert Graham spoke to the effects of working from home and noise from Falcon Field. 

“It’s gotten so bad where if I’m trying to think or if I’m trying to talk on the phone, or even if I have Zoom meetings with other employees of my company, they can’t even hear me.”

Graham said Mesa is part of a larger conflict pitting planes versus people across the nation. 

“Right now, they are running out of funds,”  Graham said. “They’re going to be in the red next year, so they have to start charging something. It’s becoming a nationwide issue, where people are charging landing fees.”

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.