"U.S. airport funding may change this year"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Airport funding may change this year
By Dave Greber
The Dayton (OH) Journal-News


BUTLER COUNTY - The three airports in Butler County have received only a
fraction of the $7 billion in taxes taken from passengers of major airports
during the past decade.

But without that money, managers of smaller general aviation airports -
including Middletown's Hook Field, Miami University's airport in Oxford and
Butler County Regional Airport in Hamilton - likely would struggle for
survival.

Many small airstrips in Ohio rely on taxes and fees from airline tickets
bought by passengers flying out of major airports - such as the
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport - to cover the costs of
buying snowplows and removing trees near the end of the runway.

During the past two years, Hook Field has purchased snow removal equipment,
added fencing around the perimeter and installed lighting with the $473,967
it has received from ticket taxes and other funding from the Federal
Aviation Administration, said Manager Jimmy Jonson.

"All of our money doesn't come from ticket taxes," he said. "Anybody flying
on an airplane doesn't pay for Hook Field."

But without that money, "It would be real tough" to do capital projects
necessary for the airport to grow in the coming years, Jonson said.

At Butler County Regional Airport, the nearly $1.87 million it has received
during the past two years has gone toward land purchases, taxiway extensions
and tree removal.

Some facilities have used the money to accommodate a growing number of
private jets, an Associated Press review has found. These small airports
that mostly cater to private pilots and corporate jets use the federal money
to improve runways, add safety features such as lights and build sound
barriers.

Passengers of larger airport operations pay as many as six separate taxes
and fees on a single airline ticket, adding up to more than $104 billion
over the past decade.

The taxes and fees pay for the Federal Aviation Administration and its air
traffic control operations and security operations at the nation's
commercial hubs.

The FAA distributes the money in grants to airports through the Airport
Improvement Program. The money must go toward safety, capacity, security and
environmental projects.

Congress will decide by September whether to end the subsidy for the
hundreds of smaller airports.

Meanwhile, airline operators and consumer groups are pushing for a change,
saying it's not fair for passengers to pay for small airports they don't
use.

The FAA said it hopes Congress eliminates the ticket tax and replaced it
with a fuel tax and user fee for passengers of major airports, which could
allow money to be distributed more equally among smaller airports, said
agency spokeswoman Diane Spiraliere, who said "the current revenue stream
isn't very stable."

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