The Obama Administration’s latest budget proposal once again includes a $100-per-flight air traffic services user fee that would apply to turbine aircraft operating on IFR flight plans.
The 2015 White House budget drew immediate condemnation from aviation groups, which have defeated similar user fee proposals in the past.
Pete Bunce, CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, said in a statement he is “extremely disappointed” that user fees are back on the table after a bipartisan majority in the House last year asked President Obama to abandon the plan.
AOPA president Mark Baker also expressed disappointment in the ATC surcharge proposal, saying such user fees could cripple general aviation. “The President doesn’t seem to have gotten the message,” he said of the $100 surcharge.
NBAA president Ed Bolen, meanwhile, said fuel taxes continue to be the appropriate way to pay for aviation, and that is the message the association is reiterating in discussions with members of Congress.
“As with previous user fee proposals from the White House, this one should be taken seriously — but, as in the past, the key to stopping proposals the industry opposes is for people to mobilize and call upon Congress and other elected officials to take action.”
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