Dear Supporters,

Thank you for standing with us as we work to protect the health and safety of Mesa neighborhoods impacted by airport activity. Today, we want to shine a spotlight on an urgent concern: the environmental and health consequences of excessive flight training operations, particularly touch-and-go maneuvers, which are dramatically increasing the number of takeoffs and landings, and with them, lead emissions.

Touch-and-go operations, where planes land and take off again without coming to a full stop, are repeated many times in a single session. While useful for pilot training, they result in significantly more aircraft movements than typical airport traffic. Each of these movements releases small but cumulative amounts of lead from the aviation fuel still used by most training aircraft. Over time, this lead settles into our air, soil, and water, right where families live, work, and play.

The overwhelming majority of this traffic is driven by CAE, a massive international pilot training company operating out of Falcon Field. CAE is classified as an “Extensive Service Instructor” (ESI) by the airport, which gives them significant privileges and runway access. Their large fleet and intensive training schedules contribute heavily to the aircraft noise and lead pollution burdening Mesa neighborhoods every day.

What’s more troubling is that the City of Mesa profits directly from this activity. The city collects fuel flowage fees from every gallon of 100LL (leaded aviation gas) sold at Falcon Field. In other words, the more fuel flight schools burn, the more revenue the city earns, creating a financial incentive to ignore the health costs borne by the community.

It’s time to demand change. We are calling on the City of Mesa to:

Limit repetitive training maneuvers like touch-and-gos in residential areas

End preferential treatment for high-volume flight schools like CAE

Accelerate the transition to unleaded aviation fuel (G100UL or 100R)

Prioritize public health over profit

We appreciate your continued support. Please share this message with friends, neighbors, and elected officials. Together, we can push for common-sense policies that respect both aviation and the right of residents to breathe clean air.