US airlines fight prospect of higher security fees

US airlines are fighting the prospect of sharply higher passenger security fees that could be part of any deficit-reduction plan. The approach is among a handful involving aviation that have swirled around the ever-changing complexion of efforts by Congress and the White House to avert a debt default.
While those proposals would cover only a fraction of any deficit remedy, they represent flashpoints in relations between industry and government over aviation policy.
Business aircraft manufacturers, the powerful private pilot and aircraft owners association and, now, the biggest commercial airlines have in recent days aggressively lobbied issues around the debt talks that would affect their members. According to sources with knowledge of the talks and documents circulating on Capitol Hill, a proposal would double the security fee paid by airline passengers to raise at least $15 billion over 10 years. The current maximum fee imposed on commercial flights is $10 per round-trip ticket.
Nicholas Calio, who as president of the Air Transport Association is the top lobbyist for commercial carriers, said any increase in security fees that would bump up ticket prices would be unacceptable.
"We should advance a tax policy that encourages air service to grow, not contract. Airlines are critical to the nation's economic health," he said. US homeland security officials said they would not speculate on the composition of debt negotiations.
Other proposals that have been discussed would impose a $25 fee for each commercial and private aircraft departure. Negotiators have also floated the possibility of matching the depreciation schedule of corporate jets to the longer schedule that commercial airlines use. This may become one avenue for closing tax loopholes where Democrats and Republicans could find common ground.
Previous proposals by President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush to increase air security fees paid by passengers were not embraced by lawmakers, who would have to approve such a change.