ACI-NA Statement on ATA’s Rates and Charges Challenge

WASHINGTON (Sept. 5, 2008) – "Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) condemns the Air Transport Association’s (ATA) petition for review of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges.

“DOT recognized that airport proprietors are in the best position to manage the use of the facilities they planned, financed, built and currently operate.  They can effectively work with the airlines and the local community to develop rates and charges that address airline over scheduling, congestion and passenger inconvenience and take into consideration unique local circumstances.

“ACI-NA believes that the use of DOT’s measures can effectively be combined with existing policies that recognize the importance of promoting competition and providing service to small communities; these are essential components of any program designed to align demand with capacity at congested airports."

DOT’s amendments to its “Policy Regarding Airport Rates and Charges”—published in the Federal Register on June 21, 1996 (“1996 Rates and Charges Policy”)—confirm the ability of airports to implement two-tier pricing.  Additionally, congested airports are now permitted to use landing fees to provide incentives to airlines to use the airport at less congested times or to use alternate airports to meet regional air service needs.

About ACI-NA:
Airports Council International - North America represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America.  Almost 400 aviation-related businesses are also members of the association, which is the largest of the five worldwide regions of Airports Council International.