JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – On Friday, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves denied the State of Mississippi’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s efforts to take over the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.

The City of Jackson argues that the 2016 state law, which would create a new airport board, violates both the U.S. and Mississippi constitutions.

Republican legislators who pushed for a new board said the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport should have a regional governing authority because it serves a regional customer base. Critics of the change said white suburban Republicans were trying to steal authority over an asset controlled by Democratic officials in majority-Black Jackson.

“JMAA (Jackson Municipal Airport Authority) might in fact continue to operate the airport for years to come. That is because after the case wraps up here, there will likely be another appeal to the Fifth Circuit and perhaps a petition for U.S. Supreme Court review. And if all that litigation ends with a victory for the defendants, there will be an administrative process in Washington, D.C., in which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decides whether to approve a transfer
from JMAA to the new, state-controlled authority… For now, though, the status quo has been maintained,” said Reeves in his opinion.

The JMAA said the case will now proceed through the normal channels of legal discovery before a trial date is set.

Jackson has maintained control of the airport during the dispute, and city officials currently have the power to appoint a five-member board.

Under the 2016 law creating a nine-person airport board, five members would be appointed by state officials: two by the governor and one each by the lieutenant governor, the Mississippi National Guard adjutant general and the Mississippi Development Authority director. There would also be one appointment each from Jackson’s mayor and City Council and supervisors in suburban Madison and Rankin counties.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.