Whos Subsidizing Whom?

Alot has been said elsewhere about recent articles appearing in USA Today questioning federal, state and local investment in airports lacking scheduled service. The articles imply airline passengers are subsidizing general aviation airports and people traveling by air for worthwhile purposes only use the scheduled services provided by airlines; all other types of air transportation and airports lacking scheduled service are frivolous and unworthy of investment. The industrys alphabet soup has done an okay job of responding to these articles. I say "okay" because there is so much more to do, including going on offense, instead of once again adopting the defensive posture seen all too often. Its axiomatic that few people who read the initial articles saw the industrys response: Once something is "out there," its out there. Of the many things omitted from McPapers attack on GA, heres another: The airlines themselves dont pay to use the infrastructure supplied by the federal government.

Key Takeaways:

• The article refutes recent *USA Today* claims that federal investment in general aviation (GA) airports is frivolous and subsidized by airline passengers.
• It argues that the airlines themselves are the largest recipients of federal aviation subsidies, a point omitted by critics of GA.
• This subsidy occurs because airline passengers' taxes fund airspace and infrastructure, and airlines' operational costs (like landing fees) at federally funded airports are tax-deductible business expenses, effectively making taxpayers subsidize commercial operations.

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