Eric Weddle has an article in the Lafayette Journal & Courier about federal funds being given to general aviation airports. I don’t have a great deal of knowledge about these facilities. I served a brief stint as counsel for the Frankfort airport authority until a couple of thorny issues were resolved and the local political situation changed there and it no longer made sense for them to pay a Lafayette attorney to come to their meetings.
General aviation airports are those, generally speaking, that do not primarily serve the military or scheduled, commercial flights. They are the smaller airports that serve chartered and private airplanes, among other things. I have a theoretical sense that it’s good that these airports are available for decentralized air travel. But, in a lot of cases, they serve a very limited segment of the population. They are sometimes cited as an economic development tool because the lives of executives with local factories are easier if they can land a chartered plane close to a factory. Don’t get me wrong, some of my best friends — or at least one of my best friends — is a pilot who uses general aviation airports. But, unless I’m underestimating their value to the community, I suspect that these airports are probably on the edges of what we need government to fund when we’re dealing with limited tax dollars.
I see that at least one of the airports defended themselves on the grounds that they are nearly self-sufficient with hangar and fuel charges. But, in Indiana, these airport authorities do have taxing authority and condemnation powers, even if their use of such powers may be limited. In the overall scheme of things, this is probably just a drop in the bucket.
Obviously, I’m all over the map on this one. Sometimes it’s just good to ramble.
This story claims that the money from airline passenger fees. But that isn’t the whole story. Passengers pay, I believe, 7.5% of the price of the fare, plus $3, in tax that goes into the airport and airway trust fund. On a $200 far to Denver from here, that would be $18 in tax for a roughly 2000 mile round trip.
The part the story left out if that I pay 19.4 cents/gal fuel tax into the same fund. If I make the same flight, I’ll pay about $26 in fuel tax. So, general aviation is not getting a free ride.
These fees and taxes also pay for the air traffic control system, something I almost never use as a general aviation pilot–but which is essential for the airline passenger.
Despite the contributions of travelers and the fuel tax, about 25% of aviation expenditures come from the general fund. General aviation pilots pay taxes into the general fund, just like everyone else. Also, cargo flights and corporate jets frequently use these smaller airports. They also serve as training sites for new pilots. So they can serve a purpose to the public.
The article also asks if this money could somehow be used in a better way to decrease delays for the airline traveler. Huh? Having a small airport keeps me from using the big international airport for my departures and arrivals–something I have every right to do. Funding these small airports decreases congestion at the larger airports.
Wow, sorry multiple typos in my post. I also probably should have mentioned I’m a pilot with a small single-engine airplane.
T makes some good points, and there is even more to add:
– Many / most small planes don’t have all of the electronics (transponder, etc) to fly into class B airspace (major airports)
– Even if a small plane has all the electronics needed, traffic control doesn’t want to deal with them. A little Cessna that lands at 55 knots requires a HUGE buffer between it and the 747 that is screaming in behind it at 160 knots. I have heard more than one account of ATC telling the little plane to “Take heading 180 and wait for instruction” followed a few minutes later by “We now show you leaving our airspace, resume VFR”. In other words, “Go away boy, we don’t have time for you”.
Small airports help the big ones. They ARE a public service.