AOPA fights to keep light GA affordable at TEB

AOPA fights to keep light GA affordable at TEB

AOPA is fighting hard to ensure that small general aviation aircraft aren't priced out of Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (which owns and operates TEB) is proposing a 50-percent increase in fees for all aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds. AOPA says that's unfair and discriminatory.

"Teterboro is the most significant general aviation gateway to the New York metropolitan area," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "AOPA vigorously opposes any scheme to artificially reduce airport demand, and rejects any plan that places a greater burden upon individually owned and flown aircraft than it does on larger corporate jets." AOPA advocated maintaining the existing fee schedule for aircraft under 6,000 pounds.

Under the Port Authority's proposal, a single-engine aircraft like a Cessna 172 would pay nearly $9 per thousand pounds landed weight—about 150 percent more than a Boeing 737 and nearly 300 percent more than a typical corporate jet. Most of TEB's operations are corporate, turbine-powered aircraft.

"Light GA aircraft represent just a fraction of the operations at Teterboro and impose a minimal additional impact on the airport infrastructure," said Boyer. "And these aircraft are usually owned and operated by individuals who pay the fees out of their own pockets, rather than passing them on as a cost of doing business.

"We also share the view of the FAA that efforts to artificially limit operations run afoul of federal law and do a disservice to the millions of citizens who rely upon the airport," said Boyer.

AOPA pledged to work with the Port Authority to find ways to keep Teterboro safe, efficient, and affordable.

December 15, 2005