Nov 6, 2009 9:32 pm US/Central
Small Airports Fly High, Thanks To Fees You Pay
Pilot Advocates Defend Millions Diverted To Little-Used Fields
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Ticket taxes help pay for improvements at small airports that most people don't use.
CBS
Long lines. No leg room. Flying can be a pain.
We're going to add insult to injury when we tell you your plane ticket may be helping someone else fly in style.
CBS 2's Anne State reports.
We pay taxes on each airline ticket. Some of the money goes to small airports that most of us will never use, including three in our area that -- combined -- got millions.
Oak Park resident Susan Bergey bought a ticket two weeks ago. The taxes stung.
"I think when you look at the base fare you say, 'Oh, that's reasonable.' Then you see what the bottom line is, you say, 'Wait a minute,'" Bergey said.
Every time you fly, at least 7.5 percent of your ticket price goes into something called the "Airport Improvement Program." The program has given billions of dollars to small airports, where corporate and private planes are the norm.
"I don't know why we would do that," Lincoln Park resident Keion Collier asked. "It doesn't seem fair."
CBS 2 has learned that three local airports have gotten some of this money. A state transportation official said the Lake in the Hills Airport got $2.8 million for taxiway grading and drainage. The Lansing Municipal Airport got $1.2 million to extend the taxiway to the runway. And the DuPage Airport got $845,000 dollars for taxiway guidance signs.
The managers of all three airports defend the projects and the money. So does aviation attorney John S. Hoff.
"Three million dollars -- compared with the billions of dollars at O'Hare -- is a drop in the bucket," Hoff said.
Hoff says if you think only the rich use small airports you're wrong. He said the vast majority of use comes from businesses.
Hoff says businesses equal jobs. And if all of those business people decided to fly out of O-Hare instead, Hoff said, the lines would be even longer.
But Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said instead of investing in small airports, government money would be better spent in communities where unemployment is high.
"When you're making an investment of public dollars, you'd better make sure that investment helps the broadest range of people possible," Martire said.
We contacted the three congressmen for these areas. They all support funneling money to these small airports, citing safety concerns.
But people who study the issue say these airports are in affluent areas. They don't need tax money, especially in a recession.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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