Agenda

A review of the history of airports and airport law.

This session is a lunch-time discussion about being an in-house attorney advising an airport, including recruiting and mentoring new lawyers who are interested in doing airport work.

This session will discuss federal requirements regarding revenue use and revenue diversion.

This session will discuss the basics of land use regulation at airports, including Airport Layout Plans and master planning. Italso will address aeronautical and non-aeronautical development and the role of the FAA in approving land use.

To continue with the introduction to airport law, this session provides a review of the federal laws and regulations that govern airports, including environmental, civil rights, and intellectual property, and the role of state laws.

The session will discuss the structure and contents of airline use and lease agreements, including an airport's proprietor's rights. We will also touch on rates and charges.

Many airports have land that can be developed mixed and non-aeronautical uses, providing revenue for the airport and economic activity for the community. This session will discuss approaches for aeronautical development, including lease agreements, public-private partnerships, and master development agreements. We also will discuss developments that have both non-aeronautical and aeronautical uses.

This session will address the current requirements under federal environmental law, including statutory, regulatory, and caselaw changes. We also will discuss NEPA and changes to the NEPA process for airports.

Regulatory update.

This session will discuss the use of Minimum Standards and Rules and Regulations as governance and contract tools.

Ethics - Airport attorneys often work with other government entities and their own governing entities, including mayors and city councils, and airport authority boards. This session will discuss the varying roles of those entities and the ethical rules that apply to lawyers.

This session will review the current grant agreements including changes made during 2025 and 2026, the impact of litigation, and updates to the FAA's interpretation of grant assurances.

This session will provide an overview of the federal procurement requirements and the FAA's model contract provisions, including the 2026 changes, for both federally funded and sponsor-funded projects.

A speaker from the FAA and lunch. 

Funding your capital project. This session will address the various options to fund airport projects and ways to combine them to fund one or a group of capital projects. These sources include airport funds and bonds, FAA funding, TIFIA loans, state and congressional earmarks, private investment, and tenant investment.

Secured transactions, bankrupt tenants, and corporate acquisitions. This session will provide a primer on secured transactions such as leasehold mortgages, bankruptcy and corporate transactions, and then discuss how these issues impact both general aviation and commercial service airports.

Airports now must integrate new technology, including autonomous cars and shuttles, and AI-based systems into the airport environment. In this session, we will discuss some experiences working with autonomous vehicles and innovative airfield technology.

This session will address the requirements for airport security and, for airports with TSA, those requirements and private alternatives.

This session will discuss how to meet your airport's energy needs, including negotiating with power companies, solar energy for your use and investment, and other innovative energy options.

First Amendment in the airport context. This session will discuss how the First Amendment impacts airports, including policies related to advertising and managing free speech issues such as protests.