Aviation & Airport

Development Law News

Blog Authors

Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D.

Chevalier, Allen & Lichman, LLP

Paul J. Fraidenburgh

Daniel S. Shimell

Latest from Aviation & Airport

Aviation & Airport

Colorado Court Judgment Finds Noise Modeling Significantly Understates Aircraft Noise

By Barbara Lichman

July 1, 2020

In a June 19, 2020 Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment (“Judgment”), the District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado, in Board of Commissioners of Adams County v. City and County of Denver, recounted in detail the expert testimony offered by Adams County, that fatally undercuts the traditional reliance by the City of Denver, operator of Denver International Airport (“DIA”), and airport operators in general, on “noise modeling” in place of “noise monitoring” to…

Aviation & Airport

Proposed Legislation Repudiates Congress’ Hands Off Policy Toward Aircraft Certification

By Barbara Lichman

June 19, 2020

In a momentous shift of its normally conciliatory relationship with aircraft manufacturers, the United States Senate, on June 17, 2020, introduced the “Aircraft Safety and Reform Act,” legislation that will, if enacted, effectively reverse the provisions of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018 (“2018 FAA Act”) which allow aircraft manufacturers to perform, with a minimum of FAA oversight, the certification for safety purposes, of the aircraft it manufactures. The proposed, bipartisan, legislation, seeks…

Aviation & Airport

Financial Accommodations for Airport Tenants in Response to COVID-19

By Paul Fraidenburgh

June 18, 2020

Airport sponsors and their legal counsel have been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to exercise judgment and make tough decisions regarding the financial accommodations they will offer their commercial aeronautical tenants to help them weather the current storm. In many ways, these decisions have mirrored the difficult decisions employers have had to make to pare down their workforces in order to survive in the wake of this public health emergency and the resultant economic downturn.…

Aviation & Airport

Executive Order Presents a Trade-Off Between Infrastructure Investment and Environmental Regulation

By Barbara Lichman

June 16, 2020

On June 4, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order, “EO On Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities” (“EO”) for the expressed purpose of forestalling “the likelihood of a potentially protracted economic recovery with persistent high unemployment,” EO, Sec. 1, resulting from the business closures necessitated by the onslaught of Covid-19. Predicated on the authority granted in the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. § 1601,…

Aviation & Airport

FAA Sidesteps Congressional Mandate to Evaluate Alternative Noise Metrics

By Barbara Lichman

June 10, 2020

In the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115254, § 188, Congress required the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) to “evaluate alternative noise metrics to current average day-night level standard, such as the use of actual noise sampling to address community airplane noise concerns.” In its April 14, 2020 Report to Congress (“Report”), FAA thumbed its nose at that mandate, and chose instead to enumerate the various available metrics, without any attempt at comparative analysis…

Aviation & Airport

A Guide to Navigating the DOD Siting Clearinghouse Process for Wind Farm Siting and Development

By Paul Fraidenburgh

May 20, 2020

Attorney Paul Fraidenburgh shares insights from his recent meeting at the Pentagon about navigating the DOD Siting Clearinghouse process for the siting and development of new wind farms. Click here to read the full article. …

Aviation & Airport

Permissible Uses of CARES Act Grant Funds by Airport Sponsors

By Paul Fraidenburgh

May 14, 2020

If there is anything to be learned from the FAA’s distribution of the $10 billion in funds allocated to airports in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, it is that allocating billions of dollars in just a few weeks is more difficult than it sounds. On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law as Public Law No. 116-136. The CARES Act is aimed at mitigating the effects of…

Aviation & Airport

Regulation of VTOLS Lags Far Behind Technology

By Barbara Lichman

May 6, 2020

The development of Vertical Take-Off and Landing Vehicles (“VTOL”) looks like the wave of the future, especially where highway traffic is becoming an increasing impediment to a constructive workday. All is not rosy, however, where VTOL must share the air with conventional aircraft and the ground with densely populated urban areas. The most advanced VTOL to date is a U.S. based technology anticipated to become available for commercial use in 2023. The aircraft is configured…

Aviation & Airport

Update Regarding European Travel Ban

By Daniel S. Shimell

March 16, 2020

Over the weekend, the Trump administration added the United Kingdom and Ireland to the list of countries subject to the European travel ban (sometimes the “Ban”) it originally announced on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. In addition to prohibiting the entry of aliens who were physically present within the Schengen Area, the Ban now prohibits the entry of “all aliens who were physically present within the United Kingdom, excluding overseas territories outside of Europe, or the…

Aviation & Airport

Travelers, Airlines, and Airports Face Uncertainty after President Trump Announces European Travel Ban

By Daniel S. Shimell

March 12, 2020

Airports, airlines, and travelers face a number of dynamic questions and challenges in the wake of the Trump administration’s abrupt televised announcement that the federal government “will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.” The announced European travel ban (sometimes the “Ban”) is set forth in a Presidential Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting…

Aviation & Airport

Development Law News

Blog Authors

Colorado Court Judgment Finds Noise Modeling Significantly Understates Aircraft Noise

Proposed Legislation Repudiates Congress’ Hands Off Policy Toward Aircraft Certification

Financial Accommodations for Airport Tenants in Response to COVID-19

Executive Order Presents a Trade-Off Between Infrastructure Investment and Environmental Regulation

FAA Sidesteps Congressional Mandate to Evaluate Alternative Noise Metrics

A Guide to Navigating the DOD Siting Clearinghouse Process for Wind Farm Siting and Development

Permissible Uses of CARES Act Grant Funds by Airport Sponsors

Regulation of VTOLS Lags Far Behind Technology

Update Regarding European Travel Ban

Travelers, Airlines, and Airports Face Uncertainty after President Trump Announces European Travel Ban

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