Security Costs Climb at Tallahassee Airport

Posted on Tue, Nov. 11, 2003

Security Costs Climb at Tallahassee Airport
The Tallahassee Democrat, FL

Soaring security costs at Tallahassee Regional Airport cost airlines about
$1million last year in extra fees and have air carriers worried about how
to cover the costs, officials said Monday.

"Airline security charges have more than tripled" in the past two years,
said Phil Inglese, Tallahassee Regional Airport assistant director and
financial administrator. "Last year, our security cost about $1million.
The airlines picked up the cost."

The airport collected about $10million in gross revenue last year, Inglese
said, adding the airport has "no choice" but to pass the rising cost of
increased protection along to the airlines.

Extra security measures cost "about $1.80 to $2 per passenger," he said.
"We had approximately 550,000 emplanements last year, so security came in
just over $1million."

Inglese said the airport received $1million from the federal government in
the months after the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks to help defray security
costs, then another $800,000 for other operating expenses. He said no
federal money has been received since then to help the airport absorb
increasing security expenses.

Part of the problem, Inglese said, is the inability to predict security
alerts issued by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

"For example, this year we're going to be adjusting costs up" because of
code red and code orange alerts, Inglese said. There were three code
orange alerts this year totaling 63 days, he said.

Lauren Stover, a regional spokeswoman for the Transportation Security
Administration, said federal officials know heightened security measures
mean more expenses for airlines stricken by post-Sept. 11 revenue declines
and are working to spread the cost evenly.

"It's got to be a collaborative effort of spreading the buck," she said.
"The airlines are kicking in money, the passengers are paying a fee and
there are funds out there under the U.S. Department of Transportation
airports can apply for."

Federal dollars are used to pay for baggage screening and security
checkpoint personnel, along with federal air marshals who ride on selected
flights, Stover said.

Inglese said Delta and its subsidiaries account for about 65 to 70 percent
of the annual airport passenger total and paid about $650,000 last year in
airport security fees.

He said AirTran has about 20 percent of the passenger load and Northwest
and USAir have about 5 percent each.

Inglese said the security fees eventually may translate into higher ticket
prices, a sentiment Stover shares.

"The airlines think paying for security is the government's
responsibility," Stover said. "They are in a difficult position in a very
competitive market."

Tad Hutcheson, a spokesman for AirTran Airlines, said the company is
"looking at a variety of ways to recoup the cost of heightened security in
the wake of 9/11. We are committed to the safety of our planes and our
passengers."

Officials from Delta and Northwest Airlines declined comment on security
issues.

Hutcheson said the cost of security changes in individual airline
operations mandated by the TSA is partly offset by a charge passengers
pay.

"We can charge from $2.50 to $10 on each ticket, depending on the number
of stops the passenger makes," he said, "but that does not cover the cost"
of security measures instituted by airports.


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