Small Aircraft Subject To The Same Fees As Commercial Airliners

The FAA has proposed an increase in Overflight Fee Rates for aircraft transiting the Bahamas.

In a document posted to the Federal Register, the FAA proposes to increase the rates for Enroute and Oceanic overflights over a 3-year period to bring cost recovery from Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 recovery to FY 2013 recovery. The following table shows the proposed increases.

According to the document, "The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommends that the “cost to be shared is the full cost of providing the air navigation services” and that the “approach toward the recovery of full costs should be a gradual progression.” The FAA requests comments on whether it should expedite the rate of increase to achieve full cost recovery before 2017.

"The FAA also proposes several organizational and content revisions to part 187 to clarify the overflight fees requirements."

Jim Parker, the owner of Caribbean Flying Adventures, is asking pilots to weigh in on the proposal before the comment period closes on October 27th.

"We need to make our voices heard. Comments need to be received by Oct 27. Sorry for the short notice," Parker said in an email sent to ANN. "I've been tied up with Cuba stuff. FAA will increase the fees again in a few months and before too long every little trip we make between islands in the Bahamas or between the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic will be billed for FAA ATC services, the same as a Jumbo Jet. See my comments below. Use them as you like for your message. You can follow the link below (select "Submit a Formal comment") or send by U.S. mail to the address at the bottom of the page.
 
"These user fees were clearly intended for foreign operators and explicitly do not apply to any aircraft taking off from or landing at a U.S. airport. In fact, the Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) consists only of foreign air carriers and trade associations of those carriers. Foreign operators account for 99% of the costs of current ATC in the airspace between Miami and Puerto Rico. FAA decided to “exclude Enroute Guam and San Juan costs from total FAA costs since these combined control facilities may handle a mix of general and commercial aviation traffic” thereby acknowledging that these fees should not apply to U.S. GA traffic.

"That a private four seat single engine Cessna from the U.S. should be charged the same fees as the wide body commercial carriers coming from Europe was never intended when the user fees began to be applied in 2001," Parker continued in the email. "But today, the little private planes are receiving invoices from FAA Oklahoma city for $260 and higher for short slight between the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic. These fees are higher than the cost of fuel between these destinations.
 
"Furthermore, the FAA is sending out invoices even when these small aircraft depart from or land at a U.S. airport but make an essential same-day fuel stops enroute. There should be no invoices generated for flights departing from or landing at U.S. airports with same-day fuel stops enroute but the FAA claims they are unable to determine that the aircraft took off from or landed at a U.S. airport (even though commercial tracking software such as Flight Aware has no problem using FAA data to show instantly the flight legs.)
 
"This then results in a time consuming interaction between aircraft owners and FAA to waive the fees with FAA requiring “manifests” to prove that the aircraft departed a U.S. airport.  This is yet another indication that FAA is focused on commercial operators and does not seem to realize that small private GA aircraft do not file manifests.
 
"When the user fee process began, in recognition that small GA aircraft should not be charged user overflight fees, there was established a “threshold” of $250 a month. This essentially exempted small GA from the fees as it then required two or three Caribbean trips a month to breach the $250 threshold amount.
 
"With the recent fee increases that began in 2011, the threshold amount was not increased proportionately and invoices started to fly out the window with a single flight. This is resulting in hours upon hours of wasted time by both pilots and FAA staff to reverse these charges.

"A simple solution to this problem, which is costing the FAA more than it receiving from private aviation, would be to exclude U.S. registered general aviation from these fees. They were never intended to be included in the first place. The target is and always has been foreign operators, not me in my little Cessna 172 flying to the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico for holiday and maybe stopping overnight in the Bahamas on the way down with a fuel stop in the Dominican Republic.
 
"Please resolve this administratively. FAA has the authority to do so. Exclude U.S. GA aircraft from these fees and save everyone a lot of unnecessary time and hassles."

(Jim Parker pictured in file photo)

FMI: https://federalregister.gov/a/2015-21293