CARLSBAD — A citizen watchdog group has filed a third lawsuit against San Diego County over the expansion of commercial air service at McClellan-Palomar Airport, while Carlsbad officials pledged to continue pressing county and federal leaders to address residents’ concerns about aircraft noise and other impacts.
The latest lawsuit, filed this month by Carlsbad-based Citizens for a Friendly Airport, challenges the San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ May approval of an agreement allowing American Airlines to add two additional round-trip flights between Carlsbad and Phoenix. The group alleges the county violated the California Environmental Quality Act by approving the expanded service without adequately evaluating its environmental impacts.
The lawsuit follows two earlier legal challenges filed by the group over commercial expansion at the airport.
The first lawsuit, filed in January 2025, challenged the board’s approval of a two-year lease that allowed American Airlines’ regional subsidiary, Envoy Air, to operate daily flights between Carlsbad and Phoenix using 76-seat Embraer 175 aircraft.
The lawsuit alleges the county failed to adequately analyze impacts related to aircraft noise, air quality, traffic and other environmental concerns and also argues the county failed to obtain a required amendment to the airport’s conditional use permit with the city before approving the lease.
The city of Carlsbad later joined that lawsuit after a Vista Superior Court judge ruled the city had a direct interest because the airport operates under a conditional use permit issued by Carlsbad. City officials have argued the county’s approval of expanded commercial service requires amendments to that permit, while the county and American Airlines contend existing approvals already allow the operations.
A hearing in that case is scheduled for August.
In January 2026, Citizens for a Friendly Airport filed a second CEQA-related lawsuit challenging the county’s approval of a ground lease with United Airlines for twice-daily service to Denver and San Francisco. That lawsuit similarly alleges the county failed to adequately evaluate the environmental impacts of additional commercial flights before approving the lease.
Before the vote, Carlsbad officials urged the county to delay action until the American Airlines case was resolved and again argued the county should first obtain an amendment to the airport’s conditional use permit.
Vickey Syage, a Carlsbad resident and member of Citizens for a Friendly Airport, urged the City Council at its June 23 meeting to continue supporting the group’s efforts.
“This is about who gets to make decisions,” Syage said. “We will be protecting local control of that airport for Carlsbad citizens.”
She was joined by other residents seeking greater transparency and more opportunities for the public to weigh in on impacts from the county-owned airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration held a webinar in January that residents described as “a self-serving PR piece rather than a true community forum.”
A primary point of criticism was the airport’s Voluntary Noise Abatement Program, or VNAP, and how residents said it shifted noise regulation from local control to the FAA.
During the January webinar, Victor Globa, an assistant manager with the FAA’s Office of Airports, said no city has been able to impose restrictions related to airport noise or access.
Jason Haber, Carlsbad’s intergovernmental affairs director, told the council June 23 that the FAA has several “thresholds that are unlikely to be met” for implementing mandatory, rather than voluntary, noise-abatement measures.
“There has to be a finding that any restrictions placed on airport operations cannot impede interstate commerce in any way and also cannot in any way diminish or impede the national aviation system,” Haber said. “It appears that those thresholds are insurmountable in terms of implementing mandatory restrictions.”
Haber said discussions with the FAA and county officials have required the city to tailor its advocacy around federal priorities.
“A lot of what we heard was that the FAA’s primary concerns are efficiency and safety of the airspace, and all other aspects ultimately are secondary to those,” Haber said. “So a lot of our advocacy relative to the specific flight paths and hours of operation were deferred to those priorities, I would say.”
Carlsbad’s two representatives on the county’s nine-member Palomar Airport Advisory Committee — Shirley Anderson and Gary Greening — also updated the council on the work of a VNAP subcommittee.
Greening said the subcommittee found that pilot education materials were outdated, that the airport’s noise complaint system lacked transparency, and that the FAA’s noise compatibility study no longer reflects current population levels or aircraft operations.
“It no longer really reflects the real world conditions that we have at our local airport,” he said.
Among its recommendations, the subcommittee asked the FAA to publish monthly single-noise-event level (SNEL) data along with noise contour maps to provide a clearer picture of how aircraft noise affects nearby neighborhoods.
Anderson said that although the county has both datasets, it relies on noise levels averaged over a 24-hour period rather than the more detailed SNEL data, which tracks the impact of individual aircraft arrivals and departures.
She said that approach makes it more difficult to develop strategies to address airport impacts as Carlsbad plans for future housing and other community needs.
“The goal is to minimize the impact of airport noise in the surrounding communities,” Anderson said.
Mayor Keith Blackburn said he would send a letter to the county supporting the advisory committee’s recommendations.
“My goal is for the airport to just be a better neighbor,” Blackburn said. “We’re not going to get them closed; we just want them to be a better neighbor.”
Blackburn also raised concerns about the city’s responsibilities for responding to fires and other emergencies at the airport.
Fire Chief Mike Calderwood said the airport contracts with Pro-Tec to staff two firefighters and maintain specialized firefighting foam for aircraft crashes.
“They work about 19 hours a day,” Calderwood said. “Everything else … those are all handled by your local fire department, and on the larger incidents, we’ll use our automatic aid from neighboring agencies around us.”
Mayor Pro Tem Priya Bhat-Patel thanked Anderson, Greening and other residents for continuing to present data and advocate for solutions.
“I hope that will be at least one step in what you all have asked,” Bhat-Patel said of the letter.
Councilmember Teresa Acosta also expressed support for residents’ continued involvement.
“I hope that the community has seen that this council is listening,” Acosta said.
