Lease of county property for use as airport is proprietary function.

- When a county through the county's proper authority leases property which the county owns for use as an airport, it is engaging in a proprietary and not a governmental function. Southern Airways Co. v. DeKalb County, 102 Ga. App. 850, 118 S.E.2d 234 (1960).

Binding nature of county's contract with private parties for operating airport.

- County owning an airport may properly contract with private parties for operating the airport, in whole or in part. In so doing, the governing authority of the county is engaged in a proprietary function and may, by such contract, bind the authority's successors in office for a period of years. Southern Airways Co. v. DeKalb County, 102 Ga. App. 850, 118 S.E.2d 234 (1960).

Section not intended to totally immunize municipalities from suit.

- This section, which provides that lands acquired, controlled, or occupied as landing fields for the use of aircraft shall be so acquired or controlled for public, governmental, and municipal purposes, was intended to be a declaration on the part of the legislature of the public purpose as to which the authorization was given, and not as a limitation immunizing such municipalities from suit regardless of circumstances. Southern Airways Co. v. DeKalb County, 102 Ga. App. 850, 118 S.E.2d 234 (1960).

Tort liability of municipality operating airport.

- Airport of City of Savannah was characterized under statutes (both local and general) authorizing its establishment and maintenance as a governmental institution in nature of a park and the city was not liable in damages to party sustaining personal injuries by reason of dangerous defect in pavement of a roadway inside of park, notwithstanding receipt by city of some incidental revenue from lessees or licensees of certain privileges therein, it not appearing that airport was operated primarily as a source of revenue. Mayor of Savannah v. Lyons, 54 Ga. App. 661, 189 S.E. 63 (1936).

Municipality operating an airport is engaged in a proprietary function and is liable for tortious acts of its servants and agents in operation of an airport from which substantial revenue is derived. Southern Airways Co. v. DeKalb County, 102 Ga. App. 850, 118 S.E.2d 234 (1960).

Lease of airport property to corporation.

- Airport property leased to corporation, which was used for provision of inflight meals, was subject to taxation since the provisions of lease did not preserve the public's "rightful, equal, and uniform use" of the property as required by O.C.G.A. § 6-3-25. Clayton County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. City of Atlanta, 164 Ga. App. 864, 298 S.E.2d 544 (1982).

Trial court erred in granting a county's motion to dismiss a lessee's action to recover a refund of ad valorem taxes on the ground that the lessee's claims that O.C.G.A. § 6-3-21 was unconstitutional were barred under the doctrine of collateral estoppel because in the previous litigation between the parties, the trial court only decided that O.C.G.A. § 6-3-21 applied to the lessee's interest and did not decide on the merits whether the statute was constitutional; untimeliness was the basis of the trial court's ruling on the lessee's constitutionality argument in the prior action. Host Int'l, Inc. v. Clayton County, 311 Ga. App. 414, 715 S.E.2d 805 (2011).

Airline's property in hangar on political subdivision's property.

- Usufructs in hangar property and fuel tanks used by an airline were not subject to ad valorem taxes when the property taxed was owned by a political subdivision and located within that same political subdivision. Roberts v. Eastern Airlines, 257 Ga. 273, 357 S.E.2d 585 (1987).

Property leased to airline for airport facilities was public use.

- Five parcels of property at a city-owned airport that were leased to an airline and used for hangars, flight kitchens, and air cargo were reasonably and uniformly used for the public convenience and welfare to facilitate the effective operation of the airport, and were therefore exempt from ad valorem taxation under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-41(a)(1)(B)(i). City of Atlanta v. Clayton County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 306 Ga. App. 381, 702 S.E.2d 704 (2010), cert. denied, No. S11C0342, 2011 Ga. LEXIS 222 (Ga. 2011); overruled on other grounds by Gilmer County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Spence, 309 Ga. App. 482, 711 S.E.2d 51 (2011).

Cited in Howard v. City of Atlanta, 190 Ga. 730, 10 S.E.2d 190 (1940); Delta Air Corp. v. Kersey, 193 Ga. 862, 20 S.E.2d 245 (1942); Caroway v. City of Atlanta, 85 Ga. App. 792, 70 S.E.2d 126 (1952); Southern Airways Co. v. De Kalb County, 216 Ga. 358, 116 S.E.2d 602 (1960); City of Macon v. Powell, 133 Ga. App. 907, 213 S.E.2d 63 (1975).

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 8 Am. Jur. 2d, Aviation, §§ 12 et seq., 82 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 2A C.J.S., Aeronautics and Aerospace, §§ 11 et seq., 53 et seq.

ALR.

- Air carrier's liability for injury from condition of airport premises, 14 A.L.R.5th 662.