ACRP Impact on Practice: Strengthening Airport Lease Agreements with ACRP Guidance

When ACRP released Legal Research Digest 46: Legal Considerations for General Aviation Lease Development at Airports, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport (AZO) Director Craig Williams saw its value as the airport prepared for major hangar development and new leases. With outdated lease templates and no in-house legal counsel, AZO needed practical guidance aligned with industry standards and FAA expectations. LRD 46 provided actionable guidance on key lease considerations, helping AZO strengthen its new agreements.

This TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program’s Impacts on Practice: ACRP Impact on Practice: Strengthening Airport Lease Agreements with ACRP Guidance, highlights how Williams used ACRP Legal Research Digest 46 as a framework to update AZO’s lease agreement template to better support the airport’s new hangar leasing efforts. It also helped him identify and strengthen key provisions including tenant insurance requirements, snow removal responsibilities, airport standards, and compliance with evolving FAA requirements, while informing AZO’s broader financial management strategy.