Mesa proposes flat-rate landing fees at Falcon Field after legal challenge

Mesa, Arizona, has proposed a new landing fee schedule for Falcon Field Airport. It would replace the structure that drew a federal lawsuit and FAA scrutiny.

The revised plan sets a single rate of $4.14 per 1,000 pounds of maximum landing weight, applied across fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, drones and eVTOLs. A 2,500-pound aircraft would pay $10.35 per landing.

That replaces the earlier approved fees: $20.35 per landing for based fixed-wing aircraft at or under 6,000 pounds, and $24.35 for comparable itinerant aircraft. The earlier plan gave based aircraft ten landings a month at no charge. The revised proposal does not appear to carry that allowance forward. The city did not respond to questions about whether the free landings have been dropped or how touch-and-go operations would be billed.

Aircraft under 1,000 pounds would be exempt, along with emergency landings and public safety, medical, federal and military operations.

Falcon Field faces roughly $2.6 million in net airfield costs for fiscal year 2026-27, according to the city's October 9 financial report. The new fees are expected to bring in about $2.5 million a year. Mesa says the revenue is needed for rising operating costs and deferred maintenance, with proceeds from a $4.6 million airport land sale in 2006 nearing exhaustion.

CAE Aviation Academy and Thrust Flight sued over the original fees. A judge declined to grant the schools a preliminary injunction, and the case is still pending. The FAA separately asked for a delay in implementation while it reviews complaints about the program.