## Facts

- A local airport authority operated a commercial airport and was required to run it on a self-sustaining basis.
- A private company operated the only nearby off-airport parking lot serving airline passengers and derived over 90% of its revenue from airport users.
- The airport operated its own parking facilities and viewed the off-airport lot as a direct competitor that nonetheless relied on airport roadways and terminal access to serve customers.
- After reviewing practices at other airports and consulting an airport-management expert, the authority adopted a regulation requiring off-airport parking operators to pay an access “privilege fee” equal to 8% of gross revenues attributable to airport customers as a condition of picking up and dropping off passengers on airport property.
- Other ground-transportation and “courtesy vehicle” operators (e.g., hotels, taxis, limousines) were subject to different fee arrangements, often flat or lump-sum fees.
- The regulation also limited the parking operator’s terminal pickups to passengers who had made advance reservations rather than allowing solicitation or walk-up pickups.

## Issues

1. Whether the 8% gross-revenue access charge for off-airport parking operators is a constitutionally permissible user fee under the Commerce Clause or an undue burden on interstate commerce.
2. Whether charging off-airport parking operators a gross-revenue percentage while imposing different fee structures on other vehicle operators violates Equal Protection under rational-basis review.
3. Whether restricting pickups to pre-arranged passengers is constitutionally permissible as part of the airport’s regulatory scheme.

## Decision

- Judgment was entered for the airport authority after a bench trial.
- The 8% gross-revenue fee was upheld as a valid user fee that did not violate the Commerce Clause.
- The differing fee structures for off-airport parking versus other vehicle operators did not violate Equal Protection.
- The advance-reservation pickup restriction was upheld as a permissible operational rule tied to legitimate airport interests.

## Legal Principles

- A charge for use of airport facilities may be upheld under the Commerce Clause as a user fee when it fairly approximates the user’s facility use, is not excessive relative to the benefits conferred, and does not discriminate against interstate commerce.
- A gross-revenue-based access fee can be a reasonable proxy for use and the economic value derived from privileged access when the operator’s business depends predominantly on airport passengers.
- Economic classifications affecting commercial entities are reviewed under rational basis; differential treatment is constitutional if any legitimate governmental interest rationally supports the distinction.
- Airport authorities may regulate curbside access and passenger pickups to manage traffic, orderly operations, and revenue stability, including limiting solicitation and permitting only pre-arranged pickups.

## Conclusion

The court upheld an airport authority’s 8% gross-revenue access fee on an off-airport parking operator and a reservation-only pickup rule, finding the fee a permissible, nondiscriminatory user fee under the Commerce Clause and the classification and restrictions rationally related to legitimate airport operational and financial objectives under Equal Protection.


Park Shuttle N Fly, Inc. v. Norfolk Airport Auth., 352 F. Supp. 2d 688 (E.D. Va. 2004)