March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Logan may decide to levy $3 surcharge

BOSTON — Travelers flying in and out of Logan International Airport may find a new charge added to their tickets next year.

The Massachusetts Port Authority has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to collect a $3 fee from each person who arrives or departs from the airport. That means $6 added to a round-trip ticket.

More than 100 airports around the country have imposed such charges, said Rick Gureghian, a spokesman for MassPort.

The agency filed its request with the FAA in November, and hopes to begin implementing the surcharge starting next Oct. 1.

MassPort officials project the fee would raise more than $200 million over a seven-year period until fiscal year 2000.

The money would be dedicated to the airport’s overall modernization program, which includes improving terminal buildings and sound-proofing neighboring homes.

But some consumer advocate and airline representatives have expressed concerns about such fees.

“In a weak market like this, the airline ends up swallowing the fee or the tax themselves,” Tim Neale, a spokesman for the Airline Transport Association of America, told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy. “And we can’t afford it.”

Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America, said his concern is that “the airport authority becomes a slush fund,” said

Airport officials, however, insist the money will be closely scrutinized by the FAA.


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