The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Dallas Love Field Pilots Association recently announced their partnership with Dallas Love Field and city officials to alleviate the impact of a city-proposed plan to institute landing fees for general aviation operations.
The opposing operators are concerned that the ordinance would grant a tier system at the airport. For example, airport tenants would be exempt from landing fees if they have a lease and other fees that pay into the city. Those that lack such obligations to the city would have to pay the extra fee.
“The ordinance implies that those using based aircraft, and others who already pay fees or taxes to the city, would be exempt from this landing fee,” Steve Hadley, NBAA’s director of regional programs and Southwest regional representative, said. “Unfortunately, airport officials are interpreting the ordinance to exempt direct tenants only and not sub-tenants.”
The pilot’s association alleges that sub-tenants who rent space from those with leases are being charged, despite already paying a lease and other city fees. Additionally, the proposed landing fee is based on a formula that considers aircraft landing weight but also heavily relies on airport operations and maintenance costs. This could lead to one of the highest landing fees in the country, the association said.
“NBAA is very concerned that the public and the tenants were not included in the conversation from the start,” Hadley said. “The fee-calculation methodology was not disclosed until late in the process and, most importantly, sub-tenants are not currently exempt from a landing fee. General aviation representatives should be included in conversations that impact access to the airport.”
As the debate continues, implementation of the new rule has been postponed until Oct. 1, 2018.