Opinion ID: 4699829
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: OSU Airport

Text: {¶ 2} The airport sits on a 325.614-acre parcel owned by the state of Ohio. The parcel is in the Dublin City Schools district, but the board of education of that school district is not a party in this case and does not challenge the tax exemption. {¶ 3} The airport’s director, Douglas Hammon, testified at the BTA hearing that the airport is integral to OSU’s College of Engineering. In particular, he testified that the airport’s financial operations “fall under [his] purview with the finance arm” of that college, and the College of Engineering’s finance director confirmed that the “airport” “reports directly to the dean” of that college. {¶ 4} OSU Airport operates as a full-service airport, meaning that it has all the features of a typical airport, including runways; taxiways; hangars; an airtraffic-control tower; landing, lighting, and communications systems; and carrental and food services. It also qualifies as a “general aviation airport” under Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) guidelines, meaning that it offers services 24/7 and must be available to all classes and categories of aeronautical users for which it has certification. General aviation airports are public-use airports that do not have scheduled service or have less than 2,500 annual passenger boardings. https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/categories/ (accessed Feb. 25, 2021) [https://perma.cc/2ADR-AWV6], citing 49 U.S.C. 47102(8). According to Hammon, OSU Airport does not qualify as a “commercial service airport,” because OSU Airport does not service the passenger airlines but “service[s] anybody other than the airlines.” 2 January Term, 2021 {¶ 5} The airport’s current operations contrast with its modest beginning as a student flight school during the 1940s. According to OSU’s “Master Plan Update,” which was issued in 1990, the airport was established as a result of OSU’s “policy of developing a comprehensive program of aeronautics,” which was adopted in 1942. The master-plan update also states that the airport was operated “as a privately owned facility solely for the benefit of the University” prior to 1959 but “was opened to the public following the adoption of an Airport Master Plan on January 12, 1959.” According to the 1990 update, the master plan established the policy of receiving federal aid to fund airport improvements. {¶ 6} For a fee, members of the public may use the airport to store their aircraft; they may also purchase fuel and acquire ancillary flight services from the airport. The airport also leases hangars and office space to large commercial tenants. Hammon testified that the leasing of facilities serves the purpose of making the airport as financially self-sufficient as possible. O’Keeffe presented documents showing airport profit-and-loss statements for fiscal years 2012 and 2017. The statements show net losses for the airport in those years. {¶ 7} OSU Airport is integrated with OSU’s academic programs in the following ways:  The airport’s facilities include classrooms, simulation laboratories, and research facilities, all of which are used by OSU students in various fields of study.  Classes are held at the airport in such areas as flight education, airport management, airport planning and design, geography, and finance.  The airport is used in support of (1) 30 bachelor-, masters-, and Ph.D.-degree programs in the College of Engineering, (2) three bachelor-degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, and (3) one bachelor-degree program in the Fisher College of Business. 3 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO  The College of Engineering uses the airport as a teaching laboratory and for career training.  OSU students conduct research at a gas-turbine-research lab and an aerospaceresearch center maintained at the airport.