Washington Wire - 1997-04-14

Security Surcharge Planned

The Federal Aviation Administration announced preliminary plans to raise an additional $300 million next year in new user fees by levying a surcharge on passengers for security services and on corporate aircraft for use of the nation's air traffic control services. The notion that corporate planes would be paying for ATC services brought an angry response from the National Business Aircraft Association, which said that such a levy would be inconsistent with encouraging economic growth.

In another move to bring in funds, the government on May 19 will begin charging overflight fees to foreign air carriers that operate in U.S. airspace but do not take off or land here. The fees are expected to bring in some $90 million in revenue for the FAA.


Upgrades For ATC Equipment

Passengers flying over the Pacific and the Caribbean are now benefiting from new air traffic control equipment that has been installed at ATC route centers in New York and Oakland, Calif. The systems, which give controllers improved displays of aircraft in the region and better interaction with their computers, replace the 1960s-era equipment that controllers had been using.


Airlines Must Subsidize AA's Miami Terminal

The Department of Transportation last month ruled in favor of American Airlines in resolving a dispute between the carrier and its competitors over funding of new terminal space. The airport may charge landing and terminal fees, which will underwrite the cost of new terminal space to be used solely by American.

Six airlines-Air Canada, Delta, Lufthansa, TWA, United and US Airways-objected to the move, saying it was unreasonable and unfair to force them to subsidize the cost of constructing facilities to be used only by American. In its decision, DOT pointed out that the airport's methodology for setting rents and landing fees, under which every airline pays the same rate, assumes that eventually every carrier will have new facilities.


MA Seeks Fire Bill Change

The American Hotel & Motel Association is urging Congress to reinstate a key provision of a 1990 law that requires federal business travelers to stay only at properties that meet specific fire safety standards. The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990 was partially repealed in late 1996 in a Defense Department bill that eliminated any audit on compliance. Since the law went into effect, the number of certified hotels has risen from 6,500 units in 1992 to more than 17,300 properties today. But because of the repeal in accountability requirements, there is no incentive for more hotels to seek certification.