The Mesa City Council voted unanimously Monday night to adopt landing fees at Falcon Field airport.
The council chose to adopt fees to address the financial sustainability and independence of Falcon Field, a prominent training airport established during World War II.
Since 2026, the facility has operated on funds from a sale of airport-owned land. Officials said those funds will be depleted in less than two years — and the city did not want to use its general fund to prevent non-users from paying for aviation costs.
Despite concerns from residents about noise generated by airport traffic, City Attorney Jim Smith reiterated multiple times during the meeting that the fees have nothing to do with noise abatement.
“I can tell you from years past being on City Council, this is exactly why the council before did not want to discuss landing fees at Falcon Field or any other increases because it would cause angst among everyone,” said Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman.
Dozens of residents from several sides of the issue crowded into a full council chamber to voice their concerns. Several residents were left standing or in overflow seating.
Some residents, like James McCartney, wanted the council to address the noise from the airport. McCartney said he recognizes the fees are not to address the noise, but supports the measure for financial sustainability.
“While we cannot legally use fees to stop the noise, the impact of our quality of life directly influences how we feel about subsidizing the operations with our tax dollars, we asked the council to pursue a path of balance,” McCartney said.
Flight school owners are concerned the fees will harm their business.
“I know that this proposal is not specifically designed to target any particular operation,” said Carl Storckman, the owner of Legion Air Flight School. “However, the proposed landing fees are significantly and almost directly, it would appear, to be designed towards small fixed wing aircraft.”
The new fees are scheduled to take effect on May 1.
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The landing fee program, which the city council says is to fund the airport, has been the subject of scrutiny since it was first approved in March. Two flight schools have sued alleging the fees are illegal, and the FAA is investigating the program. -
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