The parent company of Spokane Airways, RMA, Inc., has filed suit against the Spokane International Airport and its seven-member board of directors.

The lawsuit, filed in Spokane County Superior Court, accuses the airport of breaking contracts to replace six buildings the privately owned company had occupied for more than 20 years. Those structures must be demolished to clear sight lines for a new air traffic control tower set to open in August.

John Chastek, vice president of operations for Spokane Airways, has said the airport is under contractual obligations to build new facilities or relocate the general aviation company into the same size quarters it had until March, when it was forced to move.

An attorney for the airport said the lawsuit is without basis and that airport officials have gone out of their way to ease Spokane Airway's long-anticipated relocation.

Kevin Roberts, an attorney for the airport, said the sort of new construction that's being asked for would cost the airport between $10 million and $15 million.

Nothing in the leases provides for taxpayer-subsidized new construction, Roberts said. "They're trying to get something not required under Washington law."