Amid allegations of public funds being used by an airport authority to compete against a privately owned FBO, Southwest Florida International Airport-based FBO and MRO services provider PrivateSky Aviation has sued its landlord, the Lee County Port Authority (LCPA). In its complaint filed with the U.S. District Court, PrivateSky claims that LCPA’s newly remodeled Page Field Aviation Center–which was scheduled to open at the end of August at nearby general aviation-only Page Field (FMY)–was funded (at least partially) with government grants given to the authority through its status as a special district of the State of Florida. As a result, the lawsuit claims, LCPA will carry little or no debt service for the construction of the newly renovated FBO, giving it an unfair operating advantage over privately owned PrivateSky, which as the sole GA services provider at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) must pay a percentage of its revenue to the Authority, thus further reducing its ability to compete.
“From what we calculate, so far they used up to $40 million in grant money to compete directly against our FBO, and we don’t think that’s right,” said PrivateSky chairman and CEO Vincent Wolanin, citing what he believes to be many improvements the LCPA made at FMY over the past several years. A statement in the airport’s capital improvement plan summary provided by Wolanin lists several projects, including the design and construction of the new GA terminal and associated landside facilities, which was to total $15 million including $200,000 in federal grants and nearly $12 million in state grants. The remaining approximately $3 million was to come from local sources.
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