Airports and airlines are at odds over the possibility of raising the cap on a fee automatically included in every airline ticket, after House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., outlined his support for modifying the cap as part of an infrastructure measure.
The passenger facility charge is a fee that has been capped at $4.50 since 2000. It goes toward funding projects that enhance safety, reduce noise, or generate competition among airlines. Airlines contend that passengers are already subjected to plenty of fees, while airports say that raising the fee would expedite improvements to airport infrastructure and accommodate passengers better.
Airlines for America, a group that represents airlines including United, American Airlines, and Southwest, this month issued a list of five reasons why it opposes raising the cap, including that the Aviation Trust Fund has a $7 billion surplus.
“With this much unobligated money in the bank, why are airports lobbying Congress to tax everyday travelers even more?” wrote Airlines for America, which has previously requested that Congress authorize using those funds.
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The group also noted that the fee is added on each time a passenger boards a flight, meaning that those in rural communities who need to take connecting flights would be hit hardest. Similarly, they noted that families would also be forced to pay significantly more to accommodate multiple family members.
“That’s money families would rather be spending at Disney or the beach, not filling airports’ coffers with their hard-earned cash,” Airlines for America said.
In response, the American Association of Airport Executives issued a statement citing the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which claims airlines accrued approximately $4.9 billion in baggage fees in 2018 and another $2.7 billion through reservation changes and cancellation fees.
“While airlines pile up record fee collections from passengers for so-called ‘optional’ services like taking a bag for a trip, they vigorously fight modest proposals that would upgrade airports and other aviation infrastructure,” President and CEO Todd Hauptli said in a statement.
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“We can’t meet today’s needs, let alone tomorrow’s, while maintaining a system that fails to take into account changed airline business practices and an airport financing model last updated decades ago,” Hauptli said. “It’s past time for Congress to look past self-serving airline rhetoric and make meaningful changes to boost airport infrastructure investments that directly benefit the traveling public.”
Airlines and airports have sparred over raising the passenger facility charge. For example, the two groups went head to head over the issue when a provision to increase the cap to $8.50 was inserted into the Senate 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. A provision to modify the cap was also added to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that passed in October.
Both of these efforts were unsuccessful. Former House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., opposed raising the cap. But DeFazio, who became chairman of the panel in 2019, is in favor of raising the cap and addressed the issue during a hearing in March about airport investment.
DeFazio noted that carriers including American Airlines and United Airlines had the “audacity” to increase their baggage fees by $5 while Congress was hashing out the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill.
“And guess what? People still flew. I fail to see how a modest PFC increase would so dramatically affect demand for air travel,” DeFazio said at the hearing.
As a result, DeFazio vowed that he would work to incorporate adjusting the cap as Congress tackles a massive infrastructure bill.
“A priority for me as chairman this year will be to increase the cap on the PFC so that U.S. airports can keep pace with current demands as well as plan for expected commercial service growth in the years ahead,” DeFazio said.
“I will continue to push this as a key component in any infrastructure bill that Congress considers,” DeFazio said.
