Palm Beach County must “recognize the reality” that the long-standing jet ban at Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA) in Lantana, Florida, is unlawful and must be rescinded, said the counsel for the pilot who has filed an informal complaint to overturn the prohibition. In a May 2 letter, lawyer Alan Armstrong asked county officials to meet with his client, Errol Forman, and the FAA over the ban and warned that if the situation is not resolved, Forman will move forward with a full Part 16 complaint.

Armstrong’s letter followed an FAA finding in March “that permitting jet aircraft operations on Runway 9-27 will not affect safety or efficiency at LNA or surrounding airports.” The agency asked the county to “update information regarding its restriction on jet operations at LNA.”

But the county responded that the FAA findings and request do not constitute a formal or final order by the FAA and therefore is not a formal directive from the agency to Palm Beach County with regard to enforcement of the operational restriction. The county also cited a lack of analysis from the FAA for supporting the finding.

Armstong, however, disagreed: “The time has come for the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners to recognize the reality that the jet ban is unlawful and relent from further ambitions in pursuing the so-called ‘jet ban’ at Lantana Airport.”