The U.S. Senate recently introduced the Fiscal Year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Act, which would increase Airport Improvement Program funding as well as the Passenger Facility Charge user fee.
The passenger fee would increase from $4.50 to $8.50 which would generate an additional $3.2 billion annually. Taxes on a $300 ticket, for example, would increase to $78.
Industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) and Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA), which represents commercial airport governing bodies in the United States and Canada, disagree over support of the act.
“There has been a lot of talk in Washington this year about improving infrastructure, but so far very little action,” ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke said. “The Senate’s transportation funding bill is the first bill that puts real action behind the rhetoric by providing sustainable funding streams to help airports of all sizes upgrade their facilities, attract new air service, and improve the passenger experience.“
A revenue increase would be used to modernize airport facilities and stimulate economic growth, Burke said.
A4A said the taxes passengers pay already total $20 billion annually and that an increase is not justified. Congress has more than $7 billion in unobligated tax revenue in the aviation trust fund that could be used for improvements, A4A said.