If you’ve seen your airfares decrease lately, as many Americans have, don’t thank the federal government. In fact, Congress imposes so many taxes and fees on air travel that more than 20 percent of the average ticket price is diverted to government coffers. Yet some politicians are pushing to make flying more expensive by increasing the passenger facility charge (PFC) – a tax that travelers pay at U.S. airports.
The PFC is intended to help fund capital improvement projects at airports. The current PFC rate is $4.50 per flight segment. In 2018, airports collected a record-setting $3.5 billion in PFCs – a $228 million increase from 2017.
Now, some members of Congress want to double the PFC, which could result in a family of four paying well over $100 in PFCs alone on one trip. Some are even pushing to go further and eliminate the cap altogether. This would result in airports having the ability to increase taxes on passengers with no end in sight.