Airport Litigation

Kaplan Kirsch represents airport operators, airlines, fixed-base operators, aviation trade associations, developers, and aviation stakeholders in airport litigation disputes that shape how airports operate, grow, and govern themselves. Airport litigation is rarely straightforward. It sits at the intersection of federal aviation law, environmental regulation, land use policy, and constitutional rights. Few law firms combine deep regulatory knowledge of the airport industry with real trial experience. Kaplan Kirsch does both.

Our experience spans every level of the judicial system—including federal appellate courts, U.S. district courts, state courts, and administrative tribunals such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—up to the United States Supreme Court. In FAA compliance proceedings, our attorneys have handled two of the very few contested Part 16 evidentiary hearings ever conducted.

Our airport law practice covers the full spectrum of matters that arise in the airport industry:

  • Land use and zoning disputes, including conflicts between airports and neighboring jurisdictions over compatible land use and development
  • Airport noise and access restrictions regarding challenges to local ordinances and operational restrictions that conflict with federal preemptions
  • Tenant and user disputes involving contract and regulatory disputes among airlines, fixed-base operators, and other airport tenants
  • FAA orders and regulatory challenges, such as appeals and litigation contesting FAA orders, rulemakings, and enforcement actions
  • Inverse condemnation claims arising from aircraft overflights and airport operations
  • Environmental review challenges under NEPA and related statutes affecting airport expansion projects
  • Bankruptcy proceedings, including representation of airport operators in airport-related insolvency and restructuring matters
  • FAA Part 16 compliance, such as contested evidentiary hearings and dispute resolution before the FAA

The outcomes of airport litigation often reach beyond the parties involved, shaping infrastructure development, community relations, and regulatory policy for years afterward. Kaplan Kirsch treats each matter as more than a single case. Our attorneys recognize that a ruling here can set a precedent for how airports operate elsewhere. Airport litigation rarely stays contained in the courtroom; it plays out before neighbors, regulators, and elected officials. Kaplan Kirsch works in that space, not just the legal one.

Representative Experience

NextGen Flight Procedures

Represented multiple governmental clients addressing community concerns over new federal flight procedures through litigation and federal environmental review participation. Secured precedent-setting results requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to redesign flight procedures at Phoenix Sky Harbor, Los Angeles International, and Seattle-area airports. On behalf of the City of Los Angeles, obtained a rare Ninth Circuit writ of mandamus requiring the FAA to modify flight procedures following the court’s earlier finding of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) violations.

Rental Car Bankruptcies

Represented two consortia totaling 21 airports in the Hertz and Advantage rental car bankruptcies, successfully protecting customer facility charges (CFCs) as airport sponsor property held in trust (rather than as debtor assets) and reaching favorable settlements on lease assumption and assignment, pre- and post-petition obligations, and unsecured claims.

City of Chicago Inverse Condemnation Litigation

Defended the City of Chicago in state court against inverse condemnation and nuisance claims arising from noise and vibrations from a new O’Hare International Airport runway—narrowing the case through motions to dismiss, conducting extensive plaintiff discovery, and ultimately securing summary judgment on statute-of-limitations grounds, a dismissal upheld on appeal.

Federal Contract Towers Litigation

Led a coalition of 40+ small commercial-service airports in litigation and a legislative campaign to restore funding for federal contract air traffic control towers threatened by sequestration cuts at 250 airports nationwide; filed lawsuits in multiple federal courts of appeals and co-led a lobbying and public communications strategy with the American Association of Airport Executives and state aviation groups—succeeding when the FAA restored funding within days of the opening brief filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Airspace Protection Litigation

Represented clients in Las Vegas and Barnstable, Massachusetts, challenging FAA Determinations of No Hazard for wind turbine projects under FAR Part 77. In Las Vegas, successfully challenged a proposed turbine project threatening the operation of the proposed supplemental commercial service airport, with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals finding inadequate FAA analysis. In Barnstable, challenged the proposed Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound on similar grounds, and although the Court upheld the FAA’s decision following remand, the project was ultimately not built.

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