Kansas City Could Lose Again In AMR Bankruptcy

AA seeks to end lease payments to KC

One of the first losers in American Airlines bankrupcty could be Kansas City.

American wants to rid itself of the $1.1 million lease payments it makes to the city every year, according to a bankruptcy document the company has filed in a New York court. 

The payments cover American's lease on a giant maintenance facility that the Fort Worth-based airline abandoned in 2009 while laying off hundreds of employees.

Just four years before American decided to close the Kansas City base, the city helped AA obtain more than $30 million in financing to overhaul the building.  In return, the airline signed a 25-year lease, pledging to stay in the community and employ a minimum of 700 workers there.

Now, city officials will have to fight in court to recover the money they're owed.  According to the Kansas City Star, the mayor briefed city council members on the situation this week and the city's aviation department has said it will do what it can to prevent American from gaining permission to scrap its payments.

Bankruptcy records also show American is also seeking to scrap lease payments to the city of Chicago on unsused terminal space at O'Hare International Airport.

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