SPOKANE VALLEY -- After more than 30 years in business Felts Field Aviation has lost its lease in a battle with airport management, leaving Spokane pilots angry about major changes at the region’s largest general aviation airport.

Felts Field Aviation may not be the last to leave the airport either. The owner of the Skyway Café, Sandy Milter, reports she can’t afford her rent any more. The airport charges her eight-percent of her gross profits as rent and that amount in today's economy has forced her to cut back her staff hours. Milter thinks she's being overcharged compared to other tenants and is seeking a reduction from the airport board.

With Felts Field Aviation being out of the airport by the end of the month and the café on the verge of shutting down its threatening to turn this major airport into a ghost town.

On any given day Felts Field is a beehive activity with charter planes bringing businessmen to the area, law enforcement helicopters launching their patrols and a popular lunch spot gives local pilots a place to talk shop.

“It’s a central meeting place for aviators from all around the country, as you said people come to our field just to have lunch there,” private pilot Larry Howard said.

Unfortunately with recent developments Felts is now an aviation community with an uncertain future. The airstrip's fixed base operator – essentially a rest stop and service station for private planes – has lost its lease.

“They service incoming airplanes that bring business people and what not but the number one concern I have is all of a sudden it's possible we'll be without fuel in an airport that houses hundreds of airplanes,” Howard said.

Howard owns several planes and can't understand why Felts Field Aviation was forced out of business. He blames an airport management team more concerned about profits than helping the flying public.

“It’s part of the infrastructure of Spokane. It supplies an important service to the community aside from what they can get back out of it directly in dollars and cents,” he said.

Spokane airport officials say they extended Felt Field Aviation’s lease for at least a half year while negotiations progressed. Now, with Felts Field Aviation out of a lease and a job the airport management has begun searching for a new vendor to keep pumping fuel at the airport.

With Felts Field Aviation leaving by the end of the month airport management has until April 1st to find that new vendor.