High-performance aircraft that fly mostly IFR (and therefore fly in controlled airspace) pay en-route and terminal charges based on aircraft gross weight (terminal) and gross weight and great-circle distance flown (en-route). In Canada, to use a nearby example, this has been implemented as follows. Successful, self-supporting ANSPs worldwide do not operate with pricing structures that charge each user group its fully allocated cost-though they do operate on the principle that total fees and charges must add up to total capital and operating costs. So what do we do about the cross-subsidies? We need to find a way to get to “yes” that all aviation stakeholders can live with. I’m greatly relieved that in all the current discussions over corporatization, just about everyone agrees that getting back into those battles would likely doom current corporatization prospects. Many of the battles over previous US ATC corporation proposals-in the 1980s, the 1990s, and the 2000s-were fought mostly over questions of who pays what, versus who gets what ATC services. There are also various cross-subsidies built into the current aviation excise taxes, according to the FY 2005 FAA cost allocation study which compared the aviation tax revenue from each segment of aviation with the estimated cost of providing the ATC services it uses. The other is ATC services in Alaska, where GA is a critical part of doing business, but where charging transaction fees could have serious consequences for aviation safety. One is the Flight Service Station program, which provides flight plan filing and weather briefings for general aviation (GA) pilots.
Two prominent examples come to mind immediately, and there are probably some others. With discussion increasing about moving the Air Traffic Organization out of FAA and allowing it to become self-supporting from fees and charges (like other ANSPs worldwide), the aviation community needs to grapple with the following question: Who will pay for various ATC services for which it is not feasible to charge enough in fees to cover their costs?
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