Highlights
- CAE Aviation Academy Phoenix and Thrust Flight Properties sued the city of Mesa in U.S. District Court to block new $20.35-per-landing fees at Falcon Field Airport.
- CAE estimates the fees will cost it $3.2 million annually; Thrust expects to pay more than $500,000 a year.
- The schools argue federal aviation law bars cities from using fees to discourage air traffic, and that the charges unfairly target flight training.
- A third school, Leopard Flight School, is already planning to leave Falcon Field because of the fees, according to the lawsuit.
Two flight schools have asked a federal court to block new landing fees at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa that they say will collectively cost them more than $3.7 million a year and threaten their survival.
CAE Aviation Academy Phoenix and Thrust Flight Properties filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court after the Mesa City Council passed a resolution in March setting a $20.35-per-landing charge for most aircraft. The schools argue the fee structure unfairly targets flight training because student pilots routinely perform dozens of takeoffs and landings in a single lesson. CAE estimates the charges will cost the company about $3.2 million a year. Thrust expects to pay more than $500,000 annually.
The lawsuit claims Mesa adopted the fees to address noise complaints from nearby residents after city officials concluded they could not limit flights under federal law. The schools counter that federal aviation rules bar cities from using fees to discourage air traffic.
CAE has trained pilots at Falcon Field since 1991 for airlines including American, JetBlue and Southwest. Thrust opened at the airport last summer after the city encouraged it to expand from Texas. The suit also notes that at least one other operator, Leopard Flight School, is already planning to leave Falcon Field because of the fees.
The lawsuit describes Falcon Field, which has been owned by Mesa since shortly after World War II, as one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. Flying Magazine and KJZZ have both reported on the fee dispute and the industry backlash it has generated.
Mesa has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Why are the schools suing now?
The March resolution set the $20.35-per-landing fee on a timeline that the schools say will force them out of business before any administrative remedy is available. By filing in U.S. District Court, CAE and Thrust are seeking a federal injunction that would halt the fees while the legal question of whether federal aviation law preempts local landing charges is resolved.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- ktar.com retrieved 22/05/2026 00:30
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 22/05/2026 00:30. Every claim traces to a source.
