RIAC Minimum Standards Document

In March, 2021, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation passed around a draft “Minimum Standards for Commercial Aeronautical Service Providers” document for public comment. We believe this document was created by RIAC in order to protect its one and only FBO tennant (FlightLevel Aviation) that provides fuel, hangar and tiedown services at all of the Rhode Island General Aviation (GA) airports (Newport, Westerly, Block Island, North Central and Quonset). RIAC claims this document prevents a newcomer from coming in “cherry picking” which services it wants to provide (see RIAC responses to GA Strategic Business Plan Draft). RIPA feels that it may be in the best interests of the airport user community, including airport development and growth and economic impact to have a competing FBO provide lower-cost fuel and increase competition for hangar services.

For example, the issue of bringing in a low-cost self-service fuel terminal to Quonset has been brought up many times to RIAC, but they apparently have no interest. If you look at many “county airports” up and down the East Coast that have low-cost self-service fuel, most of them use Phillips 66 fuel, which is supplied by World Fuel. There is a Phillips 66 fuel terminal in Albany, NY that could be trucked into Quonset or any other RI airport, and provide a lower-cost alternative fuel source, which would stimulate GA. The RIAC Minimum Standards Document was created by RIAC, likely at the request of the FBO, in order to prevent a competitor from providing lower-cost fuel at the RI GA airports.

RIAC Minimum Standards For Commercial Aeronautical Service Providers

RIAC Response to Comments from Bill Weedon (responding personally)

What is most distressing about the public comment process is that RIAC does not seem to take any comments made by the GA community into consideration. All we get is legalese explaining why RIAC is justified in their approach, rather than working with GA community leaders and taking into consideration the suggestions that they are providing which could improve our RI GA airports. The entire focus by RIAC seems to be on reducing expenditures at the GA airports, rather than maximizing their economic impact and promoting aviation growth.