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In a memo to FBOs, DeKalb County said it will begin implementing landing fees for transient aircraft at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK), just northeast of Atlanta, starting April 1.
Under the plan, the airport will assess weight-based fees of $4 per 1,000 pounds for aircraft between 9,001 and 20,000 pounds, and $6 per 1,000 pounds above that threshold. Maximum takeoff weight will be rounded to the nearest 1,000 pounds—putting many business jet arrivals into the hundreds of dollars per landing.
Based aircraft are generally exempt, along with government, air ambulance, nonprofit and public service flights, and operators with existing agreements. The county also noted that billing and collection will be handled by third-party provider Vector Airport Systems, rather than the FBO.
Airport officials describe the move as a cost-recovery measure tied to infrastructure, maintenance, and long-term financial sustainability.
“A landing fee is a fair method for collecting revenue from transient users,” the memo states, adding that the additional funds could reduce reliance on Airport Improvement Program grants and help close operational budget gaps.
The change reflects a broader trend as more airports adopt landing fee programs—moves that have also drawn legislative attention. Lawmakers in Florida and Arizona have introduced bills that would prohibit the use of ADS-B data to calculate or collect such fees.
Meanwhile, AOPA is urging pilots to support the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA), which would limit ADS-B data use to safety-related purposes. The group is working to advance the measure in Congress, either as a standalone bill or as part of broader aviation legislation.
As a key reliever in the Atlanta metro area, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport continues to see heavy demand. The airport reports averaging roughly 230,000 takeoffs and landings annually for more than three decades, making it the second-busiest airport in Georgia behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
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.
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.