House Proposes Increased Airline Taxes, ALPA Opposes The House of
Representatives today voted in favor of a budget plan proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan
(R-WI), which includes an unwarranted proposal to double the TSA Security fee
from $2.50 per segment to $5 in each direction.
Increasing the TSA Security Fee harms passengers, and airlines, and aviation
workers. This is a misguided proposal, and one that has been rejected in the
past by Congress. The airline industry is already subject to some of the highest
taxes in the country—even beating the levies imposed on “sin” industries like
alcohol and tobacco. Raising the costs on airlines by doubling the TSA Security
Fee would be devastating on an industry that is still trying to recover from
years of losses.
Joakim Karlsson at MIT has studied how the Senate increase
in the TSA security fee would impact airlines and their employees. He found that
if airlines chose to absorb the full cost of the new tax, they would pay an
additional $727 million per year in taxes—a huge sum for an industry with razor
thin margins. If airlines choose to pass this fee on to consumers, they face the
prospect of losing passengers who must pay a higher ticket price. The end result
is reduced capacity, higher fares, and fewer pilot and aviation industry jobs.
We again urge Congress to reject any increases in the TSA security fee and
instead focus on policies that will level the playing field for the industry,
increase U.S. international competitiveness and advance U.S. leadership in
aviation safety. |