NBAA Comments on Naples Ban on Stage 2 Aircraft Operations

Contact: Cassandra Bosco

Washington, DC, November 21, 2000 – In a letter to the director of the City of Naples, Florida Airport Authority, John W. Olcott, president of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), expressed his deep disappointment with the Authority’s decision to proceed with a ban on all Stage 2 aircraft operations. Olcott also advised the Authority that NBAA would be working with the user community and the Federal government to take all measures necessary to prevent the implementation of the ban.

The ban is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2001, despite the strenuous objections of NBAA, other users and user groups, and the Federal Aviation Administration. The ban can be waived for no more than 12 months for any user, but only if that user has a commitment for a Stage 3 hushkit (and no such hushkit has been approved by the FAA to date) or if the ban would constitute an “undue hardship” or “unduly burden interstate commerce,” all at the discretion of the Authority.

Olcott noted in his letter that the ban was “unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful” and that it was “absolutely unrelated to the real facts at the airport.” He also stated that the so-called “waiver” procedure only served “to rub salt in the wound.” Expressing his regret that NBAA had been forced to take an adversarial position vis-à-vis the Authority, Olcott reiterated an earlier offer to create a joint Naples/NBAA working group to explore voluntary measures for further reducing noise at the airport. “Our continued commitment to being a good neighbor,” stated Olcott, “is not affected by the Authority’s desire to deny access to certain users.

NBAA represents the aviation interests of over 6,200 companies which own or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn annual revenues approaching $5 trillion — a number that is about half the gross domestic product — and employ more than 19 million people worldwide. The NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention is the world’s largest display of civil aviation products and services.