It is hard to understate just how much money airports have to work with these days. The amount of money that airports took in per passenger was up 47 percent this century from 2000 to 2018, and is now at $30 billion a year. If you travel a lot, you will see that most large airports are undergoing major renovations made possible by this windfall.
Currently about 20 percent of the price of your airline ticket is devoted to taxes, fees and other charges, many of them hidden. And Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., thinks that isn’t nearly enough money. No, that wasn’t a typo.
DeFazio is chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He wants to double a hidden tax called the passenger facility charge, not just per flight but per leg of your flight. I live and work in Penobscot County and have to take many connecting flights for work. It rankles me that I, and many fellow Mainers, could get socked with an increased passenger facility charge if DeFazio gets what he wants.
Airports have plenty of money for infrastructure spending right now. DeFazio and company shouldn’t be able to reach further into our wallets for no good reason.
Andre Cushing
Newport
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