In the past few months, the FAA has offered 327 airports large grants to upgrade their facilities, but some members of Congress think the $495 million isn’t enough and want to nearly double the “passenger facility charge” to fund more infrastructure projects.
Airports don’t need this extra money. U.S. airports have $14.5 billion in cash reserves — over a year’s worth of liquidity. And, they generate $30 billion in annual revenue, $7 billion of which comes from taxes and fees paid by passengers.