TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Tribune News Service) — The public battle between the National Cherry Festival and the Northwest Regional Airport Authority escalated dramatically Tuesday with the future of the 2024 air show in the balance.

Despite months of meetings and negotiations, the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement about how the Cherry Capital Airport will be used during the high-performance aircraft portion of the show. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30, preceded by two short periods of practice on Thursday and Friday.

Both sides said they prefer not to litigate the dispute in court, noting they’d be willing to engage in mediation instead. Yet no mediation plans are on the table.

If an agreement is not reached at least 60 days before the event, the entire air show may be subject to cancellation, according to NRAA officials, citing a pre-existing policy.

On Tuesday afternoon, the two sides held competing public meetings to present their positions on the dispute, which is a major departure from the previous small group, task force meetings.

During a 1 p.m. press conference at Cherry Fest headquarters on Union Street, air show director Christian Smith expressed his frustration at the breakdown in negotiations.

“We have diligently been meeting with the airport authority since October,” he said. “We’ve made a number of concessions to reach an agreement, but the [airport’s] latest version of the agreement would mean the death of the air show.”

Two hours later, the NRAA held a board meeting to discuss the breakdown in negotiations and explain why the two sides seem so far apart.

“If there’s no agreement, the National Cherry Festival will not be authorized to use the airport,” said Airport Director Kevin Klein. “Without an air show ground plan, a [temporary flight restriction] will not be issued.”

A proposed memo of understanding sent by the festival on March 2 is “unacceptable,” Klein said, “because it doesn’t allow the airport to operate for its primary purpose,” which is serving the traveling public.

He added that “agreements have to meet federal regulations, local airport ordinances and policies.”

However, Klein emphasized that the airport authority invites the festival to re-submit its own version of the agreement, with or without a memo of understanding.

“We’re not asking for anything out of the ordinary,” said airport board member Doug DeYoung. “Maybe some of [the proposed agreement] needs to be rewritten. We just need to sit down together and make it happen.”

Grand Traverse County Commissioner Darryl Nelson, who also sits on the NRAA board, chastised the Cherry Fest for a harshly worded press statement March 7 that called the airport’s terms “ever-changing and baseless.”

“[Our board chairman] Steve Plamondon is a great advocate of the air show, but he also has responsibilities. The FAA is not known as jokesters or ‘loosey goosey.’ He can be held criminally responsible if regulations aren’t followed.

“No one in this organization is trying to prevent the air show from happening,” Nelson said. “I’d love us all to sit down and work this out.”

For many years, the air show has been a highlight of the festival, drawing spectators from around the region to enjoy aerial acrobatics by both high-performance jets and lower-speed prop planes.

Cancellation of some or all of the air show would be a major blow to the festival, both in terms of attendance and economic impact, officials said. In 2022, the NCF generated $33.4 million in activity, which supported 320 local jobs, according the festival’s most recent community report.

While several issues are on the table, the biggest point of contention seems to be exactly how, when and where high-performance jets can use the airport during the airshow, as well as how officials can work together to minimize commercial flight disruptions during that period.

In the past, when far fewer flights were landing at TVC, the disruption was less onerous. But times have changed. Passenger traffic at TVC has increased dramatically in recent years, hitting an all-time high of 700,699 in 2023. That surpassed the 2022 total of 582,908 by more than 20 percent.

Closing or restricting commercial flights during the air show impacts the traveling public and airport revenues, as well as relations between the airport and the airlines themselves.

Currently federal aviation rules require a 5-nautical-mile radius or “safety bubble” from the air show’s official “center point” during flights by high-performance airplanes, such as military jets. The center point for the air show is currently the Coast Guard ship anchored in West Grand Traverse Bay on those days.

Because Cherry Capital Airport is just 2.1 miles from that center point, commercial airline flights must be restricted at that time for safety reasons. (Slower, prop-driven aircraft that perform at the air show do not require the same 5-mile safety zone.)

The exact timing of aircraft takeoffs and landings during the air show is a persistent problem in the ongoing dispute, officials said, as well as how long groups like the Blue Angels can use the airspace on any given day.

For his part, air show director Smith said he’s added two additional FAA-certified professionals to his team to help mitigate problems regarding aircraft taxiing, takeoff and landing, a process called “deconfliction.”

Most airports are willing to work with air show experts to facilitate safe and efficient events, he said, saying the restrictions proposed by the NRAA are highly unusual and unnecessary.

“Under federal law, the airport has no right to curtail or cancel the air show,” Smith added.

John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows, commented on the dispute via Zoom during the festival’s early afternoon press conference.

“Resolution of airline scheduling issues in Traverse City and many other communities that host air shows requires close coordination and communications, but these small adjustments on just four days of the year are routinely made by the airlines in consultation with air show management at many air show venues around the country,” he said.

“The National Cherry Festival Air Show is a community treasure that has evolved and matured over multiple generations,” Cudahy added. “Unfortunately, the decades of hard work and careful cultivation of the show by dedicated staff and hundreds of volunteers can be undone and destroyed almost overnight by those who do not understand the value that the show has for the Traverse City community or how unlikely it is that the show could ever be resurrected if it is crippled by ill-considered, unnecessary and heavy-handed requirements and stipulations.”

During the back-and-forth public events, officials from both sides seemed to agree that lesser issues in the stalled agreement could be solved, such as insurance coverage, indemnification and sponsorship benefits in lieu of airport fees.

DeYoung suggested bringing in a mediator if needed, with Klein later adding the FAA would be willing to help iron out an agreement. But Klein said he didn’t believe that would be necessary — Smith said afterward the FAA could help both sides understand what parameters they need to follow, so he hoped an agency representative could take part.

In the meantime, the NRAA board agreed late Tuesday afternoon that pursuing a resolution to the dispute is a top priority going forward.

“I don’t like the air show — I love it,” said Nelson. “I don’t like the airport — I love it. I want this [air show] to happen!”

(c)2024 The Record-Eagle (Traverse City, Mich.)

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