Originally published at: DeKalb-Peachtree Joins Growing List Of Airports Adding Landing Fees
A new memo details weight-based landing fees set to take effect April 1 at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, targeting transient aircraft.
The AOPA and those opposed to the fees are quick to criticize but do not ask, why are so many airports across the nation implementing this additional revenue source. There appears to be no advocacy to assist airports financially to ensure they are properly maintained for the flying public. Instead, bills are being proposed that simply makes the airport operator’s job of collecting revenue more difficult. This will result in higher fees to obtain the same financial goal. Not sure this is what the AOPA has in mind, but it would make more sense to collaborate then divide.
That’s not correct. AOPA is not opposing fees. They want transparency in fees and they don’t want ADSB used for the collection of fees. There are also some airports who are not in compliance with the federal standards they agreed to by receiving federal funds (which, for example, require there to be space on the airport for transient traffic to park without services provided and without fees imposed). I’ve heard and read AOPA staff say over and over again that airports are allowed to impose fees. What they object to is airports not publishing these fees so that pilots can make informed decisions about where they land, fees that are not reasonable or legal, and using ADSB to determine fees.
I asked Google how Vector Airport Systems/ Plane Pass would collect data for billing. Ole Google says they collect ADS-B and Flight Data for this. I understand them needing funds, but with the amount off airports closing and the amount of traffic at certain airports, what about using grants to help with this problem instead of using ADS-B. Operators of small aircraft and some carriers could turn off ADS-B making it unsafe in an attempt to cut costs and make it unsafe around that facility.
Many airport exempt aircraft weighing less than 5,000lbs to 9,000lbs, this applies to just about all single engine piston airplanes and does eliminate all models used for flight training. Flight Training schools are the reason airports have had huge aircraft operations increases. Why do the flight training airplanes get off without having to pay like real airplanes have to? General Aviation is one of the greatest things in the world, but there are a lot of people that own an airplane and can’t afford it, stop being cheap and stop bitching about how much it cost.
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Hi Butch. Grants are only provided for capital improvement projects and not maintenance and operating expenses. Typically grants require a local match, 2%-50%. This money comes from the airport operating budget. Shutting off ADSB is not only unsafe but illegal. I don’t know of any pilot willing to risk safety and their certificates to avoid a small landing fee. That argument has been used as a scare tactic to push legislation in my state. However, the tracking systems and ATC have not witnessed this occurring.