Several airports across Florida are preparing to implement new landing fees and automated invoices to bill operators.
According to an announcement, published by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) on September 4, 2024, the new landing fees may be assessed starting from October 1, 2024. If implemented, fixed-wing aircraft will be charged approximately $3 per 1,000 pounds.
Currently, Orlando Executive Airport (OEA), Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM), Flagler Executive Airport (KFIN), Ormond Beach Municipal Airport (OMN) and DeLand Municipal Airport (DED) are considering imposing the new fees. However, this is yet to be officially confirmed.
Landing fees will be made possible by the newly available automation of satellite data collection and invoicing. This allows operators to be billed using Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS–B) data. According to FlightRadar24, ABS–B data is an advanced surveillance aviation technology that allows aircraft to transmit their position, altitude, speed, and other data to ground stations and other aircraft.
“The primary reason we are even considering a landing fee is to protect ourselves from other airports that are signing up for this,” John Eiff, DeLand’s Airport Manager, commented. “If we do not impose landing fees, airplanes that are using the other airports and paying landing fees will choose to come to DeLand and saturate our pattern to an unsafe level. For us to add a landing fee is kind of protection against this.”
The new fee proposal has been opposed by the AOPA. According to the association, local taxpayers contribute much to airports, which mainly receive funding from the federal government. Additionally, not-for-profit, public-use airports plan to charge new landing fees, “even when they already have a budget surplus,” the announcement continued.
“Imposing new landing fees at public, not-for-profit airports, intended to deter operations that provide the lifeline for these airports, seems illogical and will ultimately have safety consequences for pilots, and may violate federal grant assurances,” Stacey Heaton, AOPA Southern Regional Manager, said in the announcement. “Moreover, there may be additional legal issues with how these fees are being set, implemented, and collected.”
On January 1, 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a rule stating that aircraft flying in the airspace outlined in 91.225 are required to have an ADS-B system. However, in its recent announcement the AOPA said “the equipment mandate—and the data it provides—was never intended to be used to collect fees.”
