AirVenture ATC Fees

In July’s issue, I discussed the FAA’s demand that the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) cover controllers’ travel, per diem and overtime costs to provide ATC services at this year’s AirVenture fly-in. Subsequently, the EAA agreed to pay the agency some $447,000. (Full disclosure: EAA compensates me to work as a freelancer on the show’s daily newspaper during AirVenture.) There are a lot of opinions on this topic, ranging from, “They can have ATC fees when they pry them from my cold, dead hands,” to the more thoughtful one on the opposite page.

Key Takeaways:

• The FAA controversially demanded and received $447,000 from the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) for AirVenture's ATC services, which the EAA paid "under protest."
• The author criticizes the FAA's conduct as unprecedented, improperly timed, and contrary to Congressional intent that exempted the agency from budget cuts for ATC and has repeatedly outlawed user fees.
• The EAA is challenging these fees in court, arguing they are "procedurally improper and substantively unlawful" user fees, adopted without due process and in defiance of recent legislation.

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