2 Airports Will Collect Millions in Boarding Fees

Los Angeles International Airport and Burbank airport expect to reap millions of dollars in additional revenue by charging airline passengers a $3 boarding fee allowed under a law passed by Congress last month.

The money will be used for expansion and related projects, officials at both airports said.

Los Angeles airport will be eligible to receive as much as $67.9 million a year in boarding fees and Burbank about $4.5 million under the new law, according to estimates from airport officials.

Los Angeles International might use the income to reduce the noise affecting nearby homes, construct a rail system between terminals and increase terminal capacity and parking for aircraft, said Clifton A. Moore, executive director of the city Department of Airports.

Burbank plans to use the funds to acquire land for a new terminal building, said Victor J. Gill, spokesman for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. The authority is negotiating to purchase a parcel from Lockheed Corp. in the airport’s northeast portion, the preferred location for the new facility.

Money provided by the boarding fees will permit airports across the country to proceed with capital projects without obtaining permission from airlines. Commercial carriers, which provide a large part of airport revenue, often are reluctant to approve expansion proposals that could lead to increased competition, officials said.

“It enables us to go forward without having lengthy debates with the airlines who have concerns about competition,” Moore said. “And it’s the lowest-cost way to build these improvements.”

Under the law, passed in the waning days of the 101st Congress, any large or medium-size airport is authorized to charge a fee of up to $3 every time a passenger boards a plane at its facility. The maximum charge for a round trip would be $12 for a passenger boarding planes at four airports.

The fees are not expected to be imposed until late 1991 after adoption both of regulations on their implementation and a final rule on a national airport noise policy.

Federal transportation officials, who will have the right to review projects to be funded with fee revenue, have indicated that increased capacity and competition will be the top priorities.

Los Angeles International’s facilities are sufficient to handle the 45 million people who arrive and depart from the airport every year, Moore said. But the figure is expected to increase to 65 million in the next 10 to 12 years, he said.

The airport has a 10-year expansion and improvement plan that would cost $1.25 billion to $1.4 billion to implement. If the airport imposes the fees as expected, they would generate half of the money needed for the expansion.

The rest would be financed through revenue bonds and third parties, such as airlines, concessionaires and other airport tenants who pass costs on to consumers.

Burbank airport officials are planning to replace their passenger terminal, which was built 60 years ago, because it is too close to runways to meet current safety regulations.

The new facility is expected to cost $200 million to $250 million.