BURBANK : Airport Asks FAA to OK $3 Passenger Surcharge

In a move to jump-start funding and construction of a new terminal, Burbank Airport officials Monday asked the federal government for permission to impose a $3 fee on all outbound passengers.

Airport authority commissioners hope the levy--which could begin by summer’s end--would raise about $6 million a year to subsidize improvements that would accompany a larger terminal. The “passenger facility charge” would automatically be added onto ticket prices for anyone flying out of Burbank.

If the authority’s request is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, as is expected within six to nine months, Burbank would join other area airports, including Los Angeles International and Ontario, in assessing the $3 surcharge, the maximum allowable.

However, other Southern California airports, including Long Beach, San Diego and John Wayne International in Orange County, do not charge facility fees, according to their representatives.

Blueprints call for a new terminal to cover 670,000 square feet, four times more than the current building. Officials say a larger terminal is necessary to handle the 10 million passengers projected to come through Burbank Airport yearly by 2010.