Airports
Posted on Nov 12th, 2015
The Wicks Group attorneys have extensive experience in assisting airport authorities, state and local governments, as well as airport management companies, fixed-base operators (FBOs), and other airport service providers, with a full range of regulatory and commercial matters. We have expert understanding of US regulations related to airport funding, operations, contracting, and oversight. We also have deep experience in handling commercial matters for airports and airport service providers, including negotiating and drafting various types of commercial, management, and operations agreements, real property leases, and bankruptcy-related documents. In addition, our attorneys are experienced in advising government entities and private-sector bidders on airport development and use and on airport privatization issues.
Representative Experience
- Advising numerous state and local governments on airport-related federal grant assurance obligations and on commercial issues related to operation of their airports
- Assisting a major airport management company, responsible for operations at dozens of medium and large airports across the country, with regulatory and commercial matters for more than 15 years, including advising on aviation and environmental regulatory requirements and federal grant assurance compliance; negotiating and drafting management and operations agreements, real property leases, facility-use, and into-plane fueling and deicing agreements; and advising on airport development and use issues
- Providing a large, urban New York county with extensive guidance on the county airport’s compliance with federal grant assurance requirements, including development of compliant Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise plans and goals, and on several other contracting and litigation matters
- Providing a large, urban New Jersey airport focused on general and business aviation with general legal and commercial advice, including negotiating and drafting its management and operations agreements, real property leases, facility-use, and into-plane fueling and deicing agreements, and advising the airport on federal grant assurance compliance and airport development and use
- Guiding a major regional airport development company on antitrust requirements as it granted limited exclusivity rights to several airlines
- Serving as an expert witness for a major bank regarding federal grant assurance obligations associated with airport improvement funding
- Advising dozens of additional airport and airport-based service providers (e.g., FBOs, fuel facility managers) on a range of regulatory matters, including airport rates and charges, slot and airport access, hazardous materials compliance, public-private partnerships, and infrastructure privatization
- Providing dozens of airports and FBOs with a broad range of transactional support, including due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, procurement document review, equipment finance and other complex transaction documentation, and airline use and lease agreements
- Advising a New England development authority on regulatory requirements related to conversion of former military bases to public-use airfields, and preparing agreements to advance the conversion
Read about our work for a major airport management company here
