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A U.S. District Court, following through on a ruling of a higher court, formally issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of curfews and other restrictions at East Hampton Airport (HTO) in New York. The injunction, issued on January 11, comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on November 4 determined that the restrictions were not in compliance with the federal airport noise law, the Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA), and called on the district court to issue the injunction to prevent their enforcement.
East Hampton leaders in April 2015 had imposed an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for all aircraft, an 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. curfew for “noisy” aircraft and a limit of two “uses” per week for noisy aircraft between May 1 and October 31. Most business jets and helicopters are deemed “noisy” under East Hampton's definition.
The District Court in June 2015 struck down the weekly restrictions but permitted the nighttime curfews. East Hampton this fall had begun issuing a series of criminal summonses to Part 135 and 91 operators as part of its enforcement of the restrictions.
"This ruling by the Second Circuit sets an important precedent for all public-use airports nationwide," said Alex Gertsen, NBAA director, airports and ground infrastructure. "Despite the town of East Hampton's stated intent to no longer accept federal Airport Improvement Program grants, the court's decision holds that ANCA—which was specifically adopted by Congress to prevent access restrictions from being imposed on a piecemeal basis by airports across the country—continues to apply to HTO."
However, NBAA warned that the challenges at HTO continue, with local officials pledging to take their case to the Supreme Court. Gertsen, however, questioned whether the Supreme court would agree to review the case. The association also is advising operators who paid fines as a result of the restrictions to review their cases with the town attorney’s office.
A U.S. District Court, following through on the ruling of a higher court, formally issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of curfews and other restrictions at East Hampton Airport (HTO) in New York. The injunction, issued on January 11, came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined on November 4 that the restrictions did not comply with the federal airport noise law, the Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA), and called on the district court to issue the injunction to prevent their enforcement.
In April 2015 East Hampton leaders had imposed an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for all aircraft, an 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. curfew for “noisy” aircraft and a limit of two “uses” per week for noisy aircraft between May 1 and October 31. Most business jets and helicopters are deemed “noisy” under East Hampton's definition.
Two months later the District Court struck down the weekly restrictions but permitted the nighttime curfews. East Hampton had begun issuing a series of criminal summonses to Part 135 and 91 operators last fall as part of its enforcement of the restrictions.
"This ruling by the Second Circuit sets an important precedent for all public-use airports nationwide," said Alex Gertsen, NBAA director of airports and ground infrastructure. "Despite the town of East Hampton's stated intent to no longer accept federal Airport Improvement Program grants, the court's decision holds that ANCA—which was specifically adopted by Congress to prevent access restrictions from being imposed piecemeal by airports across the country—continues to apply to HTO."
However, NBAA warned that the challenges at HTO continue, with local officials pledging to take their case to the Supreme Court. Gertsen, however, questioned whether the Supreme Court would agree to review the case. The association also is advising operators who paid fines as a result of the restrictions to review their cases with the town attorney’s office.