Regional Affairs

Addison seeks new access fees, AOPA opposes

Airport Support Network (ASN) volunteer Keith Craigo has alerted AOPA to a backdoor attempt by Addison, Texas, city officials to set unlimited airport access fees through state legislation. House Bill 2955 and Senate Bill 1462 were introduced March 8 and propose to circumvent the well-established federal policies that set rates and charges at publicly funded airports. "The bills specifically call for a new category of fees, and to our knowledge, no state has given local governments the authority to set fees at publicly owned airports," said Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president for airports. "We're going to fight these bills, but we'll need members' help." Craigo is organizing tenants at Addison Airport (ADS) to oppose the measures. AOPA encourages pilots to contact Craigo to get involved. "Through the ASN program, we can work with local pilots to fight these important issues," Dunn said. "Elected officials are much more likely to listen to their voters."

March 16, 2007