Accommodating Federal Agencies at Airports and Related Contractual Concerns (2025)
Chapter: ACRP LRD 47: Accommodating Federal Agencies at Airports and Related Contractual Concerns
AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
Sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration
Accommodating Federal Agencies at Airports and Related Contractual Concerns
This digest was prepared under ACRP Project 11-01, “Legal Aspects of Airport Programs,” for which the Transportation Research Board (TRB) is the agency coordinating the research. Under Topic 15-01, this digest was prepared by Sean Cusson, Del Ray Solutions, LLC, Alexandria, VA and Margaret Martin, Martin Airport Law, LLC, Nashville, TN. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this digest are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors. The senior program officer is Jordan Christensen.
Background
There are over 4,000 airports in the country and most of these airports are owned by governments. A 2003 survey conducted by Airports Council International–North America concluded that city ownership accounts for 38 percent, followed by regional airports at 25 percent, single county at 17 percent, and multi-jurisdictional at 9 percent. Primary legal services to these airports are, in most cases, provided by municipal, county, and state attorneys.
Research reports and summaries produced by the Airport Continuing Legal Studies Project and published as ACRP Legal Research Digests are developed to assist these attorneys seeking to deal with the myriad of legal problems encountered during airport development and operations. Such substantive areas as eminent domain, environmental concerns, leasing, contracting, security, insurance, civil rights, and tort liability present cutting-edge legal issues where research is useful and indeed needed. Airport legal research, when conducted through the TRB’s legal studies process, either collects primary data that usually are not available elsewhere or performs analysis of existing literature.
Foreword
Federal agencies, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Department of Defense, play key roles in airport operations, safety, and security of the facilities. However, the legal authority defining airports’ rights and obligations to these agencies is varied and can be confusing. It may be unclear what restrictions exist, costs the airports have to incur, and level of obligations airports have when executing a cooperative agreement or other agreements with federal authorities. Airports must plan and comply with these federal agencies, and it is important to understand what is mandatory, discretionary, or prohibited for airports to provide.
This digest will be helpful to prepare airports for conversations with federal agencies about accommodating requirements. The objective of this digest is to provide information concerning airports’ rights and obligations to accommodate federal agencies and enter into cooperative agreements and other agreements. It provides a review of federal laws and applicable grant assurances, and information on relevant federal agency orders and policies and guidance, including General Service Administration authority and process. This digest contains a matrix that identifies airport obligations to specific federal agencies and directs the reader to the authority and guidance documents. Additionally, examples and templates for federal agency agreements are available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for ACRP LRD 47: Accommodating Federal Agencies at Airports and Related Contractual Concerns.
