A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Atlanta-area DeKalb Peachtree Airport (KPDK) will become the latest airport to introduce a landing fee program for general aviation (GA) aircraft with mtows exceeding 9,000 pounds on April 1. And Arizona’s Mesa Falcon Field Airport (KFFZ) is still weighing its necessity for all GA aircraft, even those with mtows below 6,000 pounds.
KPDK said it is implementing this change to support ongoing maintenance, future development, and long-term financial sustainability in line with FAA grant assurance requirements. A fee schedule was established of $4 per 1,000 pounds for transient aircraft between 9,000 and 20,000 pounds, while those above 20,000 pounds will pay $6 per 1,000 lbs. Based aircraft, as well as aeromedical flights, will be exempt, according to the airport authority.
These landing fees are imposed by the airport, separate from any FBO charges imposed by the ground handlers at KPDK. As such, FBOs will not be responsible for collecting them, and they cannot be waived with fuel purchase minimums or other services. Operators will be invoiced via Planepass by Vector Airport Systems.
Meanwhile, opposition to the planned <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-12-22/mesa-ponders-falcon-field-landing-fees">implementation</a> of landing fees at KFFZ is growing. The airport proposed the fees to make up $2.6 million in annual operating costs, which had been offset for the past several years by revenue from airport property sales.
But some believe the move was also motivated in part by complaints from the local community over KFFZ’s increasing traffic and resulting noise. Over the past several years, activity on the field has soared, with 475,000 operations logged last year, the bulk of which came from aircraft of the more than a dozen flight schools using KFFZ.
Unlike the fees at KPDK, which apply only to aircraft exceeding 9,000 pounds, the <a href="https://www.falconfieldairport.com/home/showpublisheddocument/49107/639082151924600000">latest</a> proposed fee schedule at KFFZ also charges&nbsp;$20.35 per landing for based airplanes ($24.35 for transient airplanes) under 6,000 pounds. This would increase costs for flight training activities at the airport, costs that would likely be passed along to flight students.
With a vote by the city council now scheduled for March 23, airport stakeholders acknowledged the community concerns in a letter to Mesa elected officials but asked that the fees be rejected, saying they would affect the entire airport economy.
“A steep landing fee aimed at the highest-frequency operations does not solve the underlying issue,” the letter stated. “It shifts training to other airports, concentrates traffic elsewhere in the region, and leaves Mesa with fewer jobs and less workforce development.”
While offering no alternative suggestions, the group, which includes several of the KFFZ-based flight instruction providers, asked the officials to provide other options “that are balanced and workable.”

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Landing Fees Take Center Stage at Two U.S. Airports

The fees are set for KPTK, but still under fire at KFFZ

With landing fees set to go into effect at Atlanta-area DeKalb-Peachtree Airport next month, Falcon Field Airport in Arizona is still weighing their necessity.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Graham joined the board in 2020

Senate Panel Approves Graham for Another NTSB Term

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

Coalition says upgrades will be burdensome 

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News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Florida passed a similar bill and several states and airports are on board

AOPA Sees Momentum Build on ADS-B Privacy Bill

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

FAA Reauthorization Act mandates audit series

 DOT IG Begins Third FAA Repair Station Oversight Audit

Hanneke Weitering

Charles Alcock

Filing alleges mislabeled imports and Chinese Communist Party ties

Archer Countersuit Targets Joby’s eVTOL Supply Chain

News, issues, personnel, equipment and developments about air traffic management.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford pledges to fix the National Airspace System in three years.

FAA and EASA Leaders Discuss the Future of Aviation Regulations at Verticon 2026

FAA Administrator expects some broken glass along the way.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford Pledges to Fix National Airspace System in Three Years

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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