AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2014 - 4

PRESIDENT'S POSITION

A reprieve, not a rout

MARK BAKER
AOPA President and CEO

It's not over in Santa Monica
THE ENTIRE general aviation community has a victory
to celebrate, even as we recognize that this win is by no
means final. In the middle of February, a federal judge
dismissed a lawsuit that threatened the very existence
of one of the country's most venerable-and most contentious-suburban GA airports (see "Briefing: AOPA
Action," page 40).
California's Santa Monica Municipal Airport
(SMO) was at the heart of a lawsuit brought by the
City of Santa Monica. The city council would like to
reclaim control of the land that houses the airport so
it can redevelop the property. Although the suit was
primarily about real estate issues, it was really part of
a larger, ongoing effort to close the airport.

Santa Monica Municipal Airport could be
considered a canary in a coal mine, and if it
were to disappear, many other important
airports would also be at risk.

AOPA PRESIDENT

Mark Baker is a
former "airport kid"
who believes
airports are some
of the greatest
spots on Earth.

4 | AOPA PILOT April 2014

The judge's action came after the FAA filed
a motion to dismiss, and AOPA and the National
Business Aviation Association (NBAA) jointly filed
an amicus, or friend of the court, brief supporting the
FAA's motion.
This is a big win for airport supporters, but it is by
no means the last word on Santa Monica Municipal
Airport's future. The city council is busy considering
its options, and we are prepared for the long and arduous fight over Santa Monica Municipal Airport to move
to a new front.
I want to talk about this airport not only because it
is vitally important in its own right, but also because
it's representative of something much larger. Even if
you live and fly thousands of miles from Santa Monica's
golden beaches, this fight matters to you. Santa Monica
Municipal Airport could be considered a canary in
a coal mine, and if it were to disappear, many other
important airports would also be at risk.
The City of Santa Monica received the airport
property from the federal government after World War
II on the condition that it continue to use the property
as an airport. More than 200 of the nation's airports
operate under similar agreements, including Chicago

O'Hare, Los Angeles International, and San Francisco
International airports, as well as many others large and
small. It's easy to imagine what would happen to our
national air transportation system if the agreements
that keep Santa Monica Municipal Airport and other
airports open were to collapse.
Not only would closing Santa Monica Municipal
Airport set a dangerous precedent for all of those other
airports, it also could close some 175 businesses, cost
1,500 jobs, and put an end to $275 million a year in economic output attributable to the airport. And that says
nothing of the increased safety risk and congestion
that would result from trying to accommodate Santa
Monica Municipal Airport's 102,000 annual operations
at other airports within the busy Los Angeles Basin.
Perhaps the strangest part of the entire debate over
the airport's future is the fact that Santa Monica residents don't want to see the airport closed and would
rather city officials focus on concerns such as traffic,
parking, growth, education, and schools. In fact, in
a 2011 survey conducted by an independent consultant, the airport ranked sixteenth out of 17 issues of
concern to residents. In the same survey, 54 percent
said the airport benefits the community and 53 percent said they want to keep the airport open. So why
are some in Santa Monica city government working so
hard and investing so much in trying to get rid of this
valuable asset?
The answer is unclear, but there's no reason to
believe this judge's decision-no matter how scathing-
will persuade city officials to end their anti-airport
campaign.
The city council is already engaged in what airport supporters label a "starvation" strategy to close
SMO-refusing to extend leases beyond July of 2015.
And there is talk of removing a big chunk of runway
and reducing airport services. Clearly, some anti-airport forces are looking for ways to reduce the field's
value and utility so it will die a "natural" death.
Although the judge's ruling is a win for airport
supporters-and one worth celebrating-it's more of
a reprieve than a rout. The bottom line is this: The
Santa Monica city council will keep looking for ways
to close the airport, and we will keep fighting to keep
it open-no matter what it takes.
AOPA
EMAIL mark@aopa.org

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2014

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