Empire Aircraft Services, Inc. ()

B-420425,B-420425.2 Mar 29, 2022 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Empire Aircraft Services, Inc. (Empire), a small business, of Summerville, South Carolina, protests the award of sole-source contract No. FA4497-22-P-0005 to Starlight Corporation, a small business, of Carlsbad, California, by the Department of the Air Force to provide aircraft wash and corrosion control services at Dover Air Force Base (AFB), Delaware. The protester contends that the sole-source award to Starlight is improper given that Empire is capable of performing the requirement. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: Empire Aircraft Services, Inc. File: B-420425; B-420425.2 Date: March 29, 2022 Brian A. Darst, Esq., for the protester. Lieutenant Colonel Keric Clanahan, and Erika Whelan Retta, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Sarah T. Zaffina, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest challenging agency’s award of a sole-source contract using simplified acquisition procedures is denied where the record shows that the agency reasonably determined there was insufficient time to conduct even a limited competition to meet the agency’s urgent requirements for aircraft wash and corrosion control services. DECISION Empire Aircraft Services, Inc. (Empire), a small business, of Summerville, South Carolina, protests the award of sole‑source contract No. FA4497-22-P-0005 to Starlight Corporation, a small business, of Carlsbad, California, by the Department of the Air Force to provide aircraft wash and corrosion control services at Dover Air Force Base (AFB), Delaware. The protester contends that the sole‑source award to Starlight is improper given that Empire is capable of performing the requirement. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The relevant background to the protest here begins with the Air Force’s issuance, on June 30, 2021, of a related request for proposals (RFP), No. FA4497-21-R-0014, for the award of a 5-year contract for tow, wash, de‑paneling, lubrication, and cleaning services for C‑5 and C‑17 aircraft at Dover AFB. Agency Report (AR), Tab 1, Contracting Officer’s Statement (COS) at 4.[1] On October 1, the Air Force awarded a contract under that solicitation to Empire with performance beginning immediately. Id. at 5. Starlight, the incumbent contractor performing these services, subsequently filed a protest with our Office challenging the Air Force’s evaluation and award to Empire. Id. at 6. As a result of the protest, the Air Force suspended performance of the contract on October 12. Id. On October 21, the agency notified our Office that it would take corrective action by reevaluating all proposals received and making a new best-value determination. COS at 6. Our Office subsequently dismissed Starlight’s protests as academic. Starlight Corp., B‑420267, B‑420267.2, Oct. 21, 2021 (unpublished decision). Because Starlight’s protest resulted in suspending performance by Empire, and because the preceding contract with Starlight ended on September 30, the Air Force elected to obtain scheduled corrosion control services at other locations or grant 60‑day waivers delaying service of the aircraft while it implemented the corrective action.[2] COS at 4, 19; AR, Tab 37, CICA Stay Override Determination and Findings (D&F) at 6. Upon completion of its corrective action, the agency again awarded the contract to Empire and on November 24, Empire resumed performance. COS at 6‑7. Starlight protested the Air Force’s reevaluation and re-award to Empire, and on December 7, the Air Force again suspended Empire’s contract performance. Id. at 7; Starlight Corp., B‑420267.3, B‑420267.4, Mar. 14, 2022, 2022 CPD ¶ 65 (the Starlight II protest). The agency sought to obtain services through an interim or “bridge” contract to Starlight. COS at 7. On Friday, December 10, the agency issued the solicitation that is the subject of this protest, RFP No. FA4497-22-PCCC, directly to Starlight seeking substantially the same services as the prior solicitation but for a base period of six months with two 3-month option periods. Id. at 10; AR, Tab 27, Bridge RFP at 1. Starlight submitted its proposal on Monday, December 13. COS at 10. The Air Force awarded the interim contract to Starlight on December 14 and performance began on December 15. AR, Tab 32, Bridge Contract at 1, 8. Concurrently, on December 10, the agency documented its sole-source justification pursuant to Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement subpart 5313.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, and 10 U.S.C. § 2302b, which authorizes the use of simplified acquisition procedures for Department of Defense acquisitions.