Ken McNeill, COPA past chairman and Calgary-based pilot responded to a Calgary Airport Authority proposal to expand its landing fees to cover all aircraft. The following are excerpts from his letter:
TO: Frank Jakowski, vice-president and CFO, Calgary Airport Authority
“Dear Mr. Jakowski:
You requested comment from the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association on proposed landing fees at YYC. COPA President Kevin Psutka has asked me to respond in view of my local knowledge.
There seem to be three main underlying themes to the proposal:
1) that all aircraft using the Calgary International Airport should contribute their share for the costs involved in the operations of the airport.
2) the system of collecting landing fees through aviation fuel fees is not fair and equitable, and
3) Airports must be able to collect sufficient revenues to carry out their functions properly and to maintain a quality of service which is acceptable to the users.
COPA’s view of these concerns is:
1) YYC is not revenue poor. Non-commercial aircraft based at YYC already pays an equitable share through fuel concession fees and other taxes. They do not need and are not entitled to use the major terminal and ramp facilities at YYC and transient pilots using the maintenance facilities or FBOs pay indirectly through the fees charged to these facilities. Others are simply compelled by law to land and report to Canada Customs
If the intention is to have private, non-commercial aircraft help support the cost of airline facilities, etc., or the facilities for corporate/business jet operations at the south end, then that truly seems inequitable.
2) aviation fuel concession fees are the fairest means of collecting such revenues from small aircraft. The arbitrary imposition of “one landing fee fits all” does not reflect large differences in aircraft size, capacity, or economic circumstances.
3) if introduced as proposed, additional revenues will be smaller than anticipated, create additional complexity and administrative costs and will add to the operating costs of maintenance facilities at YYC. The resulting increase will not be material to the revenues/costs of the airport, particularly when compared to items like the $20 million plus now paid in fees to a federal government who are clearly no longer returning their “fair share” of their citizens transportation taxes.
If the issue is truly equity, the proposal does not appear equitable to the private citizen pilot. If the issue is airport capacity and optimizing use for airline and other commercial ventures, then they and the CAA must pay some attention to the need for expanded facilities at satellite fields, which is where this proposal will force some citizens and small operators to go.
We hope that a rational examination of the issues will result in some solution other than the one proposed. Such fees could be viewed as “economic expropriation” and could inflict financial hardship on those private citizens and small operators having to relocate. If it is not really a revenue issue, and not really an equitable sharing of cost issue, but rather a capacity, safety, facility optimization issue, then we suggest it be addressed as such. In that case, upgrading of satellite fields should be contemplated, and perhaps encouraging relocation through financial assistance, not economic sanctions. In any event, no such fees should ever be applied to required landings at YYC for Customs inspection until such time as an alternative AOE for Calgary has been designated.”