Western Air Lines v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

817 F.2d 222 (1987)

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Western Air Lines v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
817 F.2d 222 (1987)

Facts

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (port authority) (defendant) operated three major airports. LaGuardia was the smallest of these airports. To direct traffic to the two larger airports and reduce congestion at LaGuardia, the port authority adopted a perimeter rule limiting the flights that were allowed to depart from or arrive at LaGuardia. Specifically, this perimeter rule prohibited nonstop flights to or from LaGuardia that were longer than 1,500 miles. Western Air Lines, Inc. (Western) (plaintiff) was an air carrier with a hub in Salt Lake City. However, because Salt Lake City was more than 1,500 miles away, the port authority refused to allow Western to fly nonstop from Salt Lake City to LaGuardia. Western sued, claiming that the port authority’s perimeter rule violated specific sections of the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA), the Federal Aviation Act, and the Airport and Airway Improvement Act. Western argued that those violations were actionable directly and under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Western also claimed that the ADA preempted the perimeter rule. Western dropped its § 1983 claims, and the district court dismissed the rest of the case. Western appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Feinberg, C.J.)

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