Landing fees seem to be a more common conversation across U.S. GA airports in recent times. Oftentimes it has to do with noise complaints, environmental concerns, or airport finance struggles.
If the conversation came up (or has come up) at your airport, what would be the most constructive way to engage with the issue?
And of course, feel free to drop your additional ideas or experiences in the comments…
So a service talks to the airport owners saying they can collect airport fees from the aircraft owners using an automated system based on ADS-B. The airport owners think it is Christmas and say go for it. Low effort and free cash, who wouldn’t go for it?
Just then Congress passes an ads-b privacy act. Ooops the automated system doesn’t work, and the service goes out of business. Hopefully the airport owners didn’t have a minimum fee guarantee in their contact, or the airport owners will keep the company alive while not collecting fees.
If you think car license plate reader are a privacy invasion, just wait. This is a whole nother privacy violation.
Egregious, Unintended and Illegal Misuse of ADS-B Data in Florida
was the title of an email recently sent by me to some Florida legislators and info copied to a few friends including our hometown airport manager who shepherds a magnificent grass roots, unpaved-grass strip enjoyed by aviators and airplane owners too numerous to mention.
Our airport manager sent me a thoughtful reply which included:
“ That may be an OK rational for tax supported municipalities. But a case can be made for privately owned airports that provide runways and upkeep without access to Federal or State monies.
There is no free lunch and users need to support privately owned airports and airstrips too - to help defray cost of maintaining these increasingly rare and valuable resources. ADS-B provides a unique opportunity to do so and is worthy of consideration by general aviation.”
Private airports had not even been on my radar when I raised this topic - but our private airport manager and friend, makes a great point.
.Sorry but I lack filters: Our Tax Dollars from Municipal through Federal are our “Landing Fees”. Unelected bureaucrats collecting data to collect what is in essence, an additional level of “Taxation Without Representation”. I’m not a tin foil hat crazy, I’m just thinking of this at the most basic level.
For example: Has anyone seen line item accounting data that explains the actual requirement to assess these fees? Have they universally held public meetings or elections to see what “We the People” want? It’s a slippery slope; if they prove they can tax pilots for landing fees, what are they going to tax next?
Here’s another example of regulatory creep? Lots of examples in the AVweb forums.