U.S. says carriers owe it $196 million in fees

U.S. airlines owe the government $196 million in unpaid airport security fees, twice as much as last year, and federal officials plan to start collecting this year.

Liability for the fees, created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to help pay for screening passengers and bags, could grow to $294 million by the end of this year, said Dave Nicholson, chief financial officer of the Transportation Security Administration.

The fees are based on the airlines’ actual screening costs in 2000, before the government took over airport security. Airlines also pay a separate security fee of about $2 billion assessed on passenger tickets.