Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) is applauding the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s recent passage of the FY2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which contains improvements related to the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) user fees.
Specifically, the legislation includes an increase in the federal cap on PFC charges from the existing $4.50 to $8.50, the first change in more than 15 years, for originating passengers only. Additionally, it increases AIP funding by approximately $250 million to a total of $3.6 billion.
According to the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), U.S. airlines have collected more than $30 billion in baggage fees since 2008, which includes a record of $4.2 billion in bag fees in 2016. No funds from the collected total went into the aviation trust fund for passenger upgrades.
“With so many politically divisive issues plaguing Washington, it is refreshing to see the Senate Appropriations Committee putting words into action through a bipartisan effort to modernize America’s aging airport infrastructure,” ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke said. “Today’s action by the committee is as pro-air passenger as you can get, benefiting passengers traveling through airports of all sizes across America with updated facilities, lower airfares, shorter security lines, and more airline competition.”
In total, the bill includes $16.97 billion in resources for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations, which is $563 million above FY2017’s enacted level. It also provides approximately $1.1 billion for the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation Systems, enabling a more efficient management of flights for a number of airports.