A coalition of nine Boulder County–area governments is calling for immediate steps to address what they describe as unsafe and “unsustainable” conditions at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA).
In a joint letter released this week, the Northwest Mayors & Commissioners Coalition — which includes Boulder County, Boulder, Broomfield, Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, Erie, Superior and Westminster — points to a June FAA memo showing RMMA led the entire national airspace system in runway incursions and airborne safety issues. The memo said the airport now ranks as the most dangerous in the country for these types of incidents.
Local leaders say the problem isn’t flight paths but the sheer volume of traffic, driven by a rapid expansion of flight-school operations under Jefferson County’s leasing decisions. The coalition writes that the airport sees “one aircraft operation every minute during daylight hours,” fueled by “tens of thousands” of repetitive touch-and-go flights each month.
Superior and Boulder County sued Jefferson County in 2024 to try to limit touch-and-go training flights, citing noise and safety concerns. That case was dismissed after a judge ruled such restrictions fall under federal authority, though the court noted Jefferson County could act if it chose to.
The group is urging Jefferson County, which owns the airport, to halt further flight-school growth, set limits on training operations, and adopt universal landing fees. They’re also asking the FAA to pause routing changes until safety and community-impact measures are in place, and for RMMA leadership to publish a corrective-action plan with clear benchmarks.
Superior Mayor Mark Lacis said RMMA “has reached a point where the safety of our residents and the integrity of our regional airspace can no longer be ignored.” The letter requests a public response within 30 days.
The Louisville City Council recently heard from a resident CU/NOAA scientist who studied the growth in flight operations at RMMA. Flights in and out of RMMA over Louisville have increased since 2018 more than 3.5 times – from 1,132 flights in May 2018 to 3,992 in May 2025. More disturbingly, the number of planes flying under the 1,000 foot minimum altitude increased dramatically, too, from 491 flights in May 2018 to 1,658 in May 2025 – and nearly 10% of this year’s flights were below 500 feet.