AOPA will fight any attempt to impose peak-hour pricing (congestion pricing) under AOPA President Phil Boyer’s charge that “all federally funded airports, by law, must be open to all classes of users without unjust discrimination.” Boyer added that general aviation is not the problem causing airline delays and shouldn’t pay a penalty for them. AOPA further charges that the FAA’s airport rates and charges guidelines ultimately are ineffective and unfair. Additional runway capacity and modernized air traffic control are the solutions to crowded runways, according to Boyer, who is pushing for an FAA funding bill without user fees. In his comments, Boyer also announced frustration with the Bush administration, saying it ignored recommendations from a committee it had chartered that found congestion pricing “may not be effective in moving flights out of peak times,” AOPA said in a release. Boyer added, “Why did they waste taxpayer money chartering an advisory committee if they weren’t going to listen to the recommendations?”
AOPA: Congestion Pricing Discriminatory
Key Takeaways:
- AOPA, led by Phil Boyer, strongly opposes peak-hour (congestion) pricing at federally funded airports, arguing it constitutes unjust discrimination against general aviation (GA) and that GA is not responsible for airline delays.
- AOPA advocates for increased runway capacity and modernized air traffic control as the actual solutions to airport congestion, pushing for an FAA funding bill that does not include user fees.
- Boyer expressed frustration that the Bush administration ignored recommendations from its own advisory committee, which found congestion pricing might not be effective, and criticized the FAA's airport rates and charges guidelines as ineffective and unfair.
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