US: A4A: US airline ticket security fee raise unwarranted
US airlines are “concerned” about potential TSA funding decreases, and oppose any increase to the airline passenger security fee to fill agency budget gaps, an Airlines for America (A4A) official said. Speaking to reporters on a March 20 conference call, A4A SVP-legislative and regulatory policy Sharon Pinkerton said the spring 2016 “meltdown” at US airport security checkpoints, leading to extremely long queues, should give the Trump administration pause before reducing TSA funding levels. In a budget blueprint released last week, US President Donald Trump suggested that TSA should focus its resources on airport passenger screening checkpoints, and proposed that 75% of the agency’s aviation security budget should be funded by the airline passenger security fee imposed after 9/11. Funds from the security fee—which is $5.60 per flight segment and capped at $11.20 per roundtrip ticket—covered about 37% of TSA’s aviation security costs in the US government’s fiscal year 2016. Even if revenue from the fee diverted to federal deficit reduction (about $1.3 billion annually) were returned to TSA, the fee revenue would still only cover about 62% of TSA’s aviation security budget. That suggests a significant fee raise would be necessary to meet Trump’s 75% target. “The last time the fee was increased [in 2013 from $2.50 to $5.60 per flight segment], part of that [additional] fee revenue went to [general federal government] deficit reduction,” Pinkerton said. “Job number one for Congress and the administration is to change that and bring that money back to TSA.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2017-03-21/general/us-a4a-us-airline-ticket-security-fee-raise-unwarranted
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US: A4A: US airline ticket security fee raise unwarranted
US airlines are “concerned” about potential TSA funding decreases, and oppose any increase to the airline passenger security fee to fill agency budget gaps, an Airlines for America (A4A) official said. Speaking to reporters on a March 20 conference call, A4A SVP-legislative and regulatory policy Sharon Pinkerton said the spring 2016 “meltdown” at US airport security checkpoints, leading to extremely long queues, should give the Trump administration pause before reducing TSA funding levels. In a budget blueprint released last week, US President Donald Trump suggested that TSA should focus its resources on airport passenger screening checkpoints, and proposed that 75% of the agency’s aviation security budget should be funded by the airline passenger security fee imposed after 9/11. Funds from the security fee—which is $5.60 per flight segment and capped at $11.20 per roundtrip ticket—covered about 37% of TSA’s aviation security costs in the US government’s fiscal year 2016. Even if revenue from the fee diverted to federal deficit reduction (about $1.3 billion annually) were returned to TSA, the fee revenue would still only cover about 62% of TSA’s aviation security budget. That suggests a significant fee raise would be necessary to meet Trump’s 75% target. “The last time the fee was increased [in 2013 from $2.50 to $5.60 per flight segment], part of that [additional] fee revenue went to [general federal government] deficit reduction,” Pinkerton said. “Job number one for Congress and the administration is to change that and bring that money back to TSA.”<br/>
