Florida GA airports face criticism over proposed landing fees

A new proposal to impose landing fees and use ADS-B data for invoicing operators at several Florida general aviation airports is drawing criticism from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). It remains unclear what the revenue from the fees, many tentatively set at $3 per 1,000 pounds of aircraft weight, would be used for. AOPA highlights that local taxpayers pay a minimal amount to support airports that are largely federally funded.

The initiative is incentivized by new technological capability to invoice operators based on ADS-B data. AOPA stated that Florida contracted with a company named Virtower, which has a strategic partnership with Vector Airport Systems to use Virtower’s ADS-B data to automatically invoice aircraft operators. Vector has been reaching out to Florida airport sponsors to pitch its services.

In its statement, AOPA wrote, “[ADS-B data] was never intended to be used to collect fees, or to enable aircraft tracking by third parties. AOPA is considering legislative action to make sure ADS-B data is used solely for its intended purpose.” The fees could be imposed as early as Oct. 1 throughout the state “as local officials race to take advantage of a newly available opportunity.”