Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

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Kerry Lynch

As work continues on a runway-shortening project at Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in California, NBAA is continuing its legal battle, filing a<a href="http://https://www.nbaa.org/ops/airports/smo/20170816-petitioner-brief-smo.pdf"> final brief</a> in federal court on its lawsuit over the long-term fate of the airport. Filed November 13 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the final brief by NBAA and a handful of local petitioners reiterates their call for the court to vacate a settlement agreement reached earlier this year between the city of Santa Monica and the FAA.

 


That agreement paves the way for the city to close the airport in 2028 and immediately shorten the runway. Last month, the city began the two-month project of shortening the runway from 5,000 feet to 3,500 feet after a temporary restraining order<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-10-17/court-lifts-smo-tro-clearing-way-runway-shortening"> was lifted </a>in a separate lawsuit.

 


The brief argues that the FAA failed to comply with federal noise, environmental and Surplus Property Act mandates in signing the settlement agreement. That agreement marked a dramatic turnaround for the agency, which for years had rebuffed attempts by the city to curb access and close the airport.

 


“[The] agreement surrenders valuable federal rights—the requirement that Santa Monica operate SMO, accessible to the public, through 2023 based on grant obligations, and in perpetuity based on deed obligations,” the brief states. “The agreement waived those rights despite statutory mandates specifically intended to prevent such a dead-of-night maneuver. “

 


NBAA expects oral arguments will be heard early next year in the case and a decision could be handed down later in the year.

 


Alex Gertsen, NBAA’s director of airports and ground infrastructure, underscored the importance of challenging an agreement “that contradicts decades of established FAA policy that SMO be kept open and accessible, and instead effectively surrenders to the city’s recurring efforts to restrict operations and to potentially enable local control of federal infrastructure.”

 


Despite ongoing action to repaint the runway to reduce its length, Gertsen said, “NBAA is working to ensure this short-sighted action is a temporary one and we maintain that the city will be obligated to restore the runway should our D.C. Circuit arguments prevail.”

 


The additional petitioners on the filing are the Santa Monica Airport Association, Bill’s Air Center, Kim Davidson Aviation, Redgate Partners and Wonderful Citrus. In addition, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and General Aviation Manufacturers Association have filed amicus briefs.

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NBAA Reiterates Call for Court To Vacate SMO Accord

NBAA and a handful of other petitions argue that FAA failed to comply with federal noise, environmental and Surplus Property Act mandates. 

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