Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Flyers may see ticket fee double
Money goes to airports to pay for improvements
Airline passengers flying from Florida and elsewhere around the nation may soon see a spike in a long-standing fee earmarked for airports, if Congress agrees to the proposal this month.
The fee, known in the industry as the passenger facility charge, would nearly double from $4.50 to $8 per person.
The cost, which is assessed on the first leg of each flight, is collected by the airlines and transferred directly to airports for new or improved terminals, runways or other projects such as safety equipment.
Airlines for America estimates that outbound passengers from Florida would pay an additional $316.88 million annually if lawmakers give the plan a green light.
Locally, that means an extra $55.2 million from departing travelers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport; $12.6 million at Palm Beach International Airport; and almost $70.7 million at Miami international Airport, the group says.
Airlines for America, an industry trade group that lobbies for nine member airlines in Washington, D.C., said the fee hike is unwarranted because airports have the money they need.
The airports disagree, asserting that up to $100 billion is needed for improvements nationwide through 2021, and that the current fee level is not enough to cover it.
And travel groups are worried. They say frequent business travelers who need to go airborne to cut deals, make sales calls and manage far-flung companies are going to take a hit, as well as families and others who fly in groups on vacations and other forms of leisure travel.
The Global Business Travel Association worries that company travel managers haven’t accounted for the increase in their 2018 budgets.
“It’s causing a lot of concern,” said spokeswoman Colleen Gallagher. “It’s going to hit the point where it’s just too much.”
Sharon Pinkerton, senior vice president for legislative affairs for Airlines for America, said there is more than enough money available in the form of an aviation trust fund and grants for airports to finance their expansion and upkeep needs.
“It’s not like Fort Lauderdale couldn’t finish their runway be-
cause they didn’t have the money,” she said, referring to the $719 million, 8,000-foot south runway that opened in 2014 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
She said consumer global business travel groups “are very active in opposing an almost doubling of this tax.”
The balance of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which helps finance Federal Aviation Administration investments in the nation’s civil aviation system, “hit an all-time high” and still contains nearly $6 billion, she said.
“Part of our rationale is for the last five years, airlines have gotten to a place where they are financially stable,” she said. “We have been reinvesting, buying new planes. We’re also investing in airports.”
But the Airports Council International — North America said its members are long past due a raise.
“There hasn’t been an increase in 17 years, and it’s lost purchasing power,” said executive director Debbie McElroy, of the current cap. “Airport needs have continued to increase, and the [facility charge] is the best vehicle to help finance them.”
Greg Chin, spokesman for Miami International, agreed that most of the nation’s large airports — including his own — have more needs than the current fee level can fund.
“Since the current [fee] was set 17 years ago, its purchasing power has significantly diminished, passenger traffic at MIA and across the nation has soared, and critical infrastructure needs have multiplied,” he said. “In light of these factors, we believe it is time for an increase to the PFC that is controlled at the local level in collaboration with our airport partners and approved by MiamiDade County government.”
Michael Simmons, director of finance at Palm Beach International Airport, said the current $4.50 fee level is fine for the airport now. But he wouldn’t oppose the new $8 cap.
“I understand both sides of the argument,” he said. “There are probably airports around the country that need more infrastructure dollars. Five years from now, we may need more infrastructure dollars. So I’m not going to be against it.”