SANTA MONICA AIRPORT
SMO
Santa Monica is located approximately 10 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Santa Monica is one of the most beautiful cities in the US with pristine beaches, great shopping and is dependent on tourism. Just south of Santa Monica is Venice Beach. Venice Beach is a quirky town but has some of the nicest homes I have seen on their canal banks.
SMO is the oldest operating airport in the LA basin that started circa 1917. When the airport was build there were no surrounding homes. SMO was home to Douglas aircraft maker of the DC-3. City Councils over the years allowed residential development right up to the airports edge. Residential development near an airport is the number one killer of airports, and SMO is a perfect example.
I have sat on two airport commissions being the Chairman of both. The purpose of the Commission is to advise the City Council on how to run the airport. The Councils I have been involved with usually appoint people to the Airport Commission who are knowledgeable about airport operations and have the best interest of the airport in mind. This is not the case at SMO. To be appointed to the SMO Commission one has to be anti airport. This falls in line with the City Council who wants to close SMO.
When an airport takes a grant from the FAA the airport has to remain an operating airport for 20 years after the grant is taken. SMO has not taken a grant in 17 years and current plans are to close the airport in 3 years.
Santa Monica tried to block usage of all large business jets a few years ago. The FAA sued Santa Monica and won in court including millions in attorneys fees and costs.
The reason I’m writing about SMO now is that SMO just changed their landing fee policy. SMO is the only airport I have ever flown into that charges a non jet piston small airplane a landing fee. The charge is done by weight. My fee for my last 2 trips was $6.71 each time, no matter that it cost the City more than the user fee to process it. You can get up to 3 notices to pay your bill. I figure if I waited to pay my bill it would cost the City over $60 to bill me for a $6,71 landing fee.
On Wednesday evening Santa Monica’s City Council voted to change landing fees by charging 250% more. Every airport that I know of does not charge based aircraft for landing fees. Santa Monica decided to charge every aircraft, based and non-based, landing fees. That means a flight school plane that does touch and go’s will be charged a landing fee for each touch and go.
The reasoning the Council gave for these changes in landing fees is that the airport was no longer self sufficient. AOPA claims that the airport was not including all revenue of which I am not privy at this time.
In my opinion I feel that there are grounds for a lawsuit against the City if AOPA’s claims can be substantiated. Additionally SMO decided not to take any grants from the FAA for the past 17 years which could have provided up to 95% of the costs for airport improvements, then SMO would be operating in the black. I don’t know if this falls under any agreement between the FAA and SMO, but if it does I’m sure that the FAA could also file suit. It will take deep pockets to sue the City. There are some very famous and wealthy people that base their planes at SMO.
Again another saga for SMO...it never ends!
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