Transient general aviation aircraft will need prior permission before landing at Las Vegas area airports ahead of the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023.
Harry Reid International Airport (KLAS), Henderson Executive Airport (KHND) and North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT) are all enforcing the prior permission required (PPR) program, which will be in effect Nov. 9 until Nov. 21, 2023.
While the main F1 event isn’t scheduled until Nov. 18, organizers expect an influx of aircraft arrivals, particularly high-end jets, in the coming weeks. “We know what F1 attracts. The kind of visitor. The kind of ticket holder. It’s a higher-end crowd. We’re expecting to be at capacity,” James Chrisley, senior director of aviation for Clark County, told local news station KLAS.
A Nov. 2 notice from the FAA warned that pilots flying in without PPR reservations should expect substantial delays throughout the area in addition to possible denial of service. Operators who land without authorization will not be able to deplane passengers and will only be able to refuel before continuing to another destination. FAA spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt said the PPR is nothing unusual. “Airports often establish prior permission required (PPR) programs during major events to manage the traffic on the ground,” Breitenfeldt told AVweb in an email. “Pilots/operators typically must make reservations with fixed-based operators (FBOs). Harry Reid Las Vegas International Airport has had a targeted PPR in place for months.”
Those who have reserved a spot at the FBOs AVweb contacted at the main Vegas airports are paying dearly for the privilege. Henderson Executive and North Las Vegas Airport are both charging a $3,000 non-refundable special event fee. Harry Reid International (KLAS) Atlantic FBO was charging $3,000 for jets, and $1,500 for piston aircraft. AOPA reported that Signature was charging $7,700 but the company said that it was already full and declined to tell AVweb how much it was charging.
While Las Vegas is no stranger to handling large-scale events, the PPR has extended outside the metro area as far away as St. George Regional Airport (KSGU) in Utah. Ryan Lunde, who keeps his Champ at St. George Airport, said tenants were given a three-day notice stating all operators will be required to ask permission prior to departing or arriving at the airport until at least Jan. 1. Pilots must also ask permission within a 24-hour notice prior to the times of intended use. The letter cited ongoing construction and congestion from the upcoming F1 race for the policy.
“I fly to over a hundred airports a year and I’ve never seen such restrictions at a small airport,” said Lunde. “This restriction is effectively shutting down the two flight schools on the field and making any sort of general aviation difficult if not impossible.”
Regularly scheduled air carrier service is exempt from the PPR.
So what does it cost to get the required prior permission? Because many reports are putting the landing fees during this event in the thousands of dollar.
There really should be a story on how these airports are not transparent about the PPR fees in effect. This event is setting a precedent for weaponizing the use of landing fees against GA and opening the door to widespread corruption. That is the real story here.
Thanks. We’re on it.
Spot on. Once one airport sees that there are no financial or legal consequences of doing this kind of thing, they’ll all do it. Our organizations need to push back on this hard.
Oshkosh figures out how to get 1000s of aircraft into the airport in a day during Airventure with FAA help. No PPR and no fees. It can be done.
Bingo. And one question to ask is where the FAA stands on this price gouging. And the answer must come right now.
Indeed that is, in the reality, a true economical speculation felony, despite the reasons presented by FBOs.
Prior permission required , to public airports?
I was planning on going to KVGT the week prior to F1 for a business conference.
I have to ask permission to fly into the city a week before an event? Hell, I’ve never seen this even on Superbowl weekends!
A back door method of restricting traffic instead of using slots as in the past? This way the FAA can stand back and blame the FBO’s for the restrictions.
I always thought public use meant just that. Define public. I also thought that Disney owned the land. Not the airspace above it.
Guess I am wrong and need to go back to school again…..
According to AOPA web site Signature at Vegas is charging $7700. What I would like to know is how Netjets manages to get their own parking at Henderson. I wonder if the government is getting any cut from all of these high fees at public, taxpayer supported airports?
From HND website:
LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX FORMULA 1
PRIOR PERMISSION REQUIRED (PPR) November 14-20, 2023 BASED TENANTS ARE EXEMPT
• PPR required 14-20 November 2023
• ATTENTION: A $3,000.00/Arrival Event Fee will apply 14-18 November 2023.
• Go to hnd.aero/Forms/FBORequest/ to request a PPR number.
Henderson Executive Airport (KHND) is requiring prior permission for all aircraft seeking to use the airport between November 14th and 20th, 2023.
I asked AOPA about already. That’s beyond insane.
AOPA is less than useless. Wish it wasn’t the case.
Actually, that’s not true. You may want to look here:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/november/09/pilots-subjected-to-egregious-fees-in-las-vegas?utm_source=epilot&utm_medium=email
And the question is, what can you or I do as an individual? Not much I fear. Maybe an organization like AOPA as good or bad it may be is not a bad thing…
For the Vegas airports, I’d like to know if this is a fee imposed by the Clark County aviation authority, by the airports themselves, or by the FBOs at the airport. I have seem claims of all 3 being responsible.
This is an important question. FOLLOW THE MONEY! Who pockets the money?
“higher-end crowd” there’s nothing more ridiculous than this. Oh! They are special people, they have better and more rights than we do. This is corporate business taking over our aviation rights. Well, if the higher-end crowd have all that money let them build their own airport for the higher-end crowd to arrive with their jets and then they can do whatever they want with it. Now, using our public airport as if that belongs to them is out of boundaries.
Is it legal for a public airport to institute a PPR procedure for a sporting event? This is an incredibly poor public relation action for Las Vegas to take and for Nevada in general.
I could possibly see a FBO requiring reservations. The FBO is allotted X number of parking spaces per lease and it’s up to them how they fill those spaces.
But for a public airport to require a PPR? Imagine the uproar if I-95 required a PPR.
I understand PPR and collecting a fee is allowed at public airports. Heck on April 8 our local airport BMG is in the line of the eclipse and they are charging a fee and PPR. I object to the fee but I am in the minority. I did suggest assigning a slot time for departures to avoid a traffic jam.
If you aren’t ready go, head to the end of the line….
I don’t have any problem with this – as far as the FBO’s are concerned.
They have limited space and know they will be over committed if they just leave it to chance who rolls up. It’s only responsible to require reservations. As far as the airport is concerned, limiting traffic during this event is prudent and responsible – not to mention a safety step that more places ought to consider. This is a positive thing. The whole F1 BS isn’t, but hey what can I say? I just hope the local governments are charging the race organizers a hefty fee too – although I bet they’re not. This is going to screw up daily life in Vegas big time – and the average person won’t see a nickel – in fact will have increased costs and efforts.
Regarding the fees, I also have no problem. Honestly under the circumstance I find them too low. Because those places are already full up (this far before the event), we can assume the fee structure isn’t a true limiting factor. It should have been considerably higher – from a purely business perspective. I would want to sell my last place the last day before the race – in order to maximize return. Let’s not forget FBO’s are businesses that exist to make money – not just to cater to us. We should be happy when they get a chance to do that. Especially if it doesn’t cost us any more dough.
The PPR bit is unfortunate for those folks based there. But granting exception would be a poor idea. The level of traffic expected is already a safety compromise. The management has taken steps to limit the impact. Granting exception would only reduce the impact of the dramatic steps taken. If you’re based there, it’s unfortunate but it’s just a cost of being based there. Besides, who in their right mind is going to want to put themselves in that traffic situation? I’d question the propriety of your decision making if you do.
If you’re based there and need to use your airplane during that time, find the nearest unaffected airport and move there temporarily. Yes it’s inconvenient. But is is a reasonable solution to the problem. You only have the local voters ( I hope you’re one) to blame. The politicians who went out of their way to bring the F1 to your city are to blame. I’d campaign heavily against any of them who supported it. A politician who wants to shut their city down – for any reason – needs to be replaced.
But that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Why in the heck is St. George limiting aircraft until Jan. 1st?