California Airports Form Council For New Fees

The executive directors and CEO's of California's 30 commercial airports have formed a statewide airport consortium called the California Airports Council (CAC), a lobbying group designed to, among other things, raise taxes on passengers.

One of the items high on their list is passage of the pending FAA Reauthorization Bill, which contains several issues key to airport operations and California's local and regional economies. The one they're most interested in is the Passenger Facility Charge.

The CAC wants an increase in the PFC cap to $7.50 from $4.50, and indexing for inflation to allow the PFC cap to keep pace with increasing capital costs. The $4.50 cap was set by Congress in 2000.

PFCs cannot be used by airports to fund non-airline revenue efforts, such as retail or parking facilities. Each airport has discretion to set its own PFC rate depending on the local needs and desires of the community.

Another issue is Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Regulations. The CAC says it is opposed to increased mandates for Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting regulations.

The costs to comply with the proposed regulations for small and regional airports could jeopardize regional service at California airports, a spokesman said.  For example, the Arcata/Eureka regional airport in Humboldt County would incur $500,000 in additional operating costs while the Fresno airport would incur mandated costs of $2.4 million annually.

The air travel industry's importance to California's transportation and economic future prompted the group to organize itself, a spokesman said, and it will dedicate its work to advocacy and education on issues facing commercial airports. For instance, with a single daily international flight to California from Asia, the state can expect to realize an additional $5 million to $7 million in state and local tax revenues and the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs, according to independent assessments, the spokesman said.

The Council will also serve as a resource for federal, state and local policymakers.

Jim Lites was recently hired to serve as the CAC executive director. He brings over 20 years of public policy and transportation experience to the CAC, the spokesman said, but didn't elaborate on what his previous jobs were.

The Council will meet on a regular basis at various airports throughout the state.