Why It Matters
Airports and airlines would face reduced turnback amounts and revised rules on which projects passenger facility charges can pay for under a new Transportation Department proposal.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates its streamlined review and notice-of-intent provisions primarily affect about 138 small-, medium- and large-hub airports.
It supplements a September 27, 2023 proposal on the same charges. The American Association of Airport Executives objected to that proposal's exclusions from streamlined authorization. In a Nov. 27, 2023 comment, the association, which said it represents more than 10,000 members from nearly 875 airports, argued the agency lacked authority to carve out exceptions and that the exclusions could delay airport capital projects, including terminal work.
The new proposal drops three of the eight exclusion categories proposed in 2023: debt service on ineligible projects, blending of charge decisions, and terminal building projects over $25 million. The FAA defends a single 60-day window as necessary "to spare all entities from unnecessary administrative burden and to avoid any unauthorized collection of PFC funds."
The FAA says that if airports could collect after 30 days while the agency kept 60 days to object, public agencies would have to refund collected charges to air carriers, who would then have to refund passengers.
The Bottom Line
The FAA lists six topics: turnback reductions, two new eligible projects, restrictions on eligible projects, its timeline for acknowledging notices of intent, eligibility for streamlined review, and submittal requirements.
Today, 14 CFR 158.95 reduces an airport's apportioned federal funds by 50% of projected charge revenue for a fee of $3 or less, and 75% for a higher fee. The revised section would set 40% and 60%. It adds that a reduction "will only be applied to an airport if such airport has been designated as a medium or large hub airport for three consecutive years."
Other changes the proposal would make:
- Two new eligible projects: noise barriers at small-hub airports where sound is expected to exceed 55 decibels as a result of new airport development, and replacement of workspace for a federal agency displaced by terminal work.
- Vehicle and ground equipment projects would no longer have to be in an air quality non-attainment or maintenance area, a requirement the FAA says the 2024 law repealed.
- The FAA would acknowledge a notice of intent within 60 days, replacing a 30-day period, according to the FAA.
- A project would be ineligible for streamlined review on six grounds, including "no aeronautical purpose," a term the rule would newly define.
- The FAA must allow a project to use the notice-of-intent process if it is an eligible airport-related project, received an FAA-awarded airport grant, and collected charges do not exceed project cost.
The FAA estimates 125 of the 138 hub airports are small entities, with annual receipts under $35 million, and 13 report more. It estimates 252 non-hub airports use the streamlined process, and 188 of the 193 collecting charges have authority running beyond the next six months. The FAA says the changes add no cost for public agencies or the agency, and that the turnback change only redistributes existing grant funds.
The FAA asks for comment on whether a consistent 60-day timeframe would lead to unconsidered results or costs, and on revised airport layout plan submittal requirements.
Comments are due on or before Jan. 4, 2027, at regulations.gov under Docket No. FAA-2022-1315. The proposal appears in the Federal Register at 91 FR 69511. Comments can also go by mail to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, or by fax to 202-493-2251.
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