The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced $3.18 billion in airport improvement grants this week — something Airlines for America claims should render updates to the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) unnecessary.
The PFC works as a sort of local user fee that airports utilize for expansion and enhancement projects, but it has not changed since 2000. Airports want to see its limitations undone, to better meet airlines’ rising fee structures, whereas airlines have, in turn, argued against any changes to the status quo. Airlines for America, for example, states that though the PFC has not changed in years, its revenues have doubled since 2000.
The latest grant allotments enter this debate as the sixth allotment of federal grants for 2019. Airlines for America notes that they are but one way the federal government supports airlines and airports, funding everything from runway construction to terminal construction. More than $200 billion has already been invested into airport improvement projects since 2008, they say.
“Passengers are already paying $6.9 billion each year in taxes to fund U.S. airports,” Airlines for America said in a recent blog post. “And, an additional $7 billion is currently in the aviation trust fund—billions of dollars that could be spent on infrastructure instead of charging passengers more.”
Dismissing the PFC as a tax, Airlines for America has taken the opportunity to argue that there is no need to pay more through it, nor for Congress to remove its limits. The last is a swipe at efforts by lawmakers like U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who introduced the Investing In America: Rebuilding America’s Airport Infrastructure Act earlier this year, with the intent of allowing airports, rather than the government, to decide what to charge customers.
At the time, they said this would reduce airline dependency on federal grants and taxes, but Airlines for America took a different view.
“Airports don’t need the money, and passengers don’t want an unnecessary tax hike,” Airlines for America said.