Port authority drops suit

WARREN — A lawsuit filed in 2005 by the Western Reserve Port Authority against the parent company of the airline Vacation Express has been dismissed.

The port authority, which runs the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, filed the suit in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

It said the company Aviation Technologies of Avoca, Pa., owed the port authority $261,451.

The amount was part of the approximately $400,000 the port authority spent in an attempt to launch the airline.

Dan Keating, the port authority’s lawyer, said the reason for the lawsuit was to determine which party had to pay for losses resulting from the service.

Vacation Express offered direct flights to Myrtle Beach and Orlando from April 2004 through September 2004.

The airline discontinued the service after the port authority refused to provide additional money.

The case was voluntarily dismissed July 20 with the parties paying the costs of the lawsuit evenly.

The port authority received $300,000 from Mahoning and Trumbull counties to provide an advertising campaign for the airline.

Trumbull County commissioners also provided a $150,000 loan.

The port authority recently agreed to repay Trumbull County’s $150,000 loan over the next three years.