O.C. Airport May Add $4.50 Fee to Outbound Tickets

John Wayne Airport in Orange County is proposing a $4.50 fee to be charged to passengers -- a move that would help pay for millions of dollars in airport improvements.

If approved by the Board of Supervisors next month, it would be the first time that a so-called “passenger facility charge” is levied on travelers who fly out of John Wayne.

Airport officials want to impose the fee for 15 months, from April 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006. County documents show that the fee -- after adjusting for passengers flying in from other cities -- would generate about $23 million, assuming the airport handles 9.5 million passengers a year by that time. That total is about a million more than today.

The money would be used for a baggage-screening project that checks for explosives, two passenger waiting areas and a new concrete apron for aircraft parked overnight. The cost of the improvements is about $37 million.

County supervisors were scheduled to consider the proposed fee at their meeting last week, but the item was postponed because the board wanted more details about airport finances.

“We directed the airport to come back with more information before we vote,” said Mark Denny, chief of staff for Supervisor Bill Campbell.

“We need to know what the options are and what the revenue sources are, other than going to the passengers,” Denny said.

Justin McCusker, an airport spokesman, said a more comprehensive financial report is being prepared for the supervisors’ Nov. 9 meeting.

He said John Wayne officials could not discuss the proposal until supervisors have been briefed.