Under a bill introduced in the U.S House Transportation
& Infrastructure Committee this week, airports would gain freedom to raise
passenger facility charges for the first time in more than a decade.
The bill, co-sponsored by Oregon Democrat Peter DeFazio and
Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, removes the $4.50-per-flight cap on PFCs,
which was set in 2000. The bill also cuts $400 million, about 12 percent, from
federal Airport Improvement Program grants, meaning airports would rely on the PFCs
even more for enhancement projects. "It's a good system," DeFazio
said in a hearing. "Those who don't fly don't have to pay. Those who do
fly benefit from the improvements."
Several airport executives spoke at the hearing in favor of
removing the cap, noting the capped fee has not provided sufficient funding for
essential airport improvements. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport CEO Sean
Donohue said U.S. airports will require $100 billion in funding over the next
five years, and Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said
simply paying down debt eats up most of the Pittsburgh airport's fees. "These
are not cosmetic projects designed to put a shiny new look on airports but the
necessary developments required to keep up with an ever-growing and changing
aviation industry," Donohue said.
This is not the first attempt to remove the cap. President
Barack Obama's 2016 budget included
a proposal to raise the cap to $8 while eliminating Airport Improvement
Program grants for large airports, but the proposal did not pass.
Airlines traditionally have opposed raising or removing the
fee cap. One argument has been that more fees would curtail air travel demand,
though DeFazio countered that ancillary charges like bag fees had yet to do so.
After DeFazio quipped during the hearing that he "could hear the
screams" from advocacy group Airlines for America, the organization tweeted
that "those screams are from passengers who don't want to pay for a PFC
tax hike." The Global Business Travel Association also historically has
spoken out against moves that would increase PFCs.
U.S.
Travel Association president Roger Dow, however, called the bill "proof
that the conversation around fixing our aviation infrastructure has
fundamentally changed, with bipartisan, broad-spectrum support coalescing
behind the approach of sensible user fees and local control over projects."