Hugo Black

“ Merely because local communities might eventually be reimbursed for the acquisition of necessary easements does not mean that local communities must acquire easements that the United States has already acquired. And where Congress has already declared airspace free to all-a fact not denied by the Court-pretty clearly it need not again be acquired by an airport. ”

“ Thus Congress has not only appropriated the airspace necessary for planes to fly at high altitudes throughout the country but has also provided the low altitude airspace essential for those same planes to approach and take off from airports. These airspaces are so much under the control of the Federal Government that every take-off from and every landing at airports such as the Greater Pittsburgh Airport is made under the direct signal and supervisory control of some federal agent. ”

“ The 'necessary' easements for which Congress authorized reimbursement in § 1112 were those 'easements through or other interests in air space' necessary for the clearing and protecting of 'aerial approaches' from physical 'airport hazards' [9] a duty explicitly placed on the local communities by the statute (§ 1110) and by their contract with the Government. There is no such duty on the local community to acquire flight airspace. Having taken the airspace over Griggs' private property for a public use, it is the United States which owes just compensation. ”