Citing financial losses and other hindrances to doing business, a group of tenants at Chino Airport has filed suit against fellow airport tenant Planes of Fame Air Museum in an attempt to halt its upcoming annual Planes of Fame Air Show.

The lawsuit was announced Saturday, April 1, by the law firm Borchard & Callahan in Mission Viejo, which is representing the plaintiffs, which include tenants Yanks Air Museum and Flying Tigers Aviation.

The lawsuit “alleges that the Air Show physically blocks and obstructs various airport businesses from operating by erecting fences and other barriers that keep would-be customers from accessing their businesses, creating huge traffic jams that keep customers away and by shutting down the air space, which grounds flight schools and other businesses not affiliated with the show,” according to a news release.

The lawsuit alleges that even though the event lasts two days, set up and take down extend the event’s impact to an entire week.

At a hearing scheduled April 20 in San Bernardino County Superior Court, the plaintiffs will request that the 25th annual show, scheduled for May 6-7, not be allowed to happen, the news release states. The plaintiffs also seek to be compensated for lost business since 2013.

Within hours of the lawsuit’s announcement, the Planes of Fame Museum issued a statement seeking letters of support and signatures to an online petition to “help us save the Air Show,” which it states is the museum’s main fundraising event.

By 5 p.m. Saturday, the online petition had almost 3,300 of the 5,000 signatures it sought.

“For the local community, the annual Air Show provides an economic stimulus to local businesses and entrepreneurs both on and nearby the airport,” according to the statement. “For the City of Chino and the County of San Bernardino, the Air Show provides increased visibility as thousands of visitors flock to the Chino Airport for the show.”

The statement acknowledged the plaintiffs’ “allegations (that) involve the experience of economic hardship over Air Show weekend and an inconvenience to operations” but did not address them.

An email to the Planes of Fame Museum was not returned Saturday.

News of the lawsuit sparked at times heated remarks on Planes of Fame’s Facebook page, and inspired someone to create the “People Against Yank’s Air Museum” Facebook group.

Neither Yank’s Air Museum’s Facebook page or website appeared to note the lawsuit at 5 p.m. Saturday.