Fee change planned for airlines

(LATIMES) — A legislative proposal to increase the airline security tax is disappointing and shortsighted, an airline trade group said last week, claiming the higher fee could severely hurt the industry as it rebounds from the recession.

The reaction from Airlines for America, the Washington trade group, came in response to a budget proposal by House Budget Committee ChairmanPaul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Among other budget ideas, he proposed changing the so-called Sept. 11 security fee from $2.50 for every segment of a trip to $5 for each way, regardless of the number of stops.

The chairman’s proposal calls for the same airline fee increase that the White House has requested to help pay for airport security costs but differs in other ways from the Obama administration’s 2013 budget. The increase would raise about $700 million a year.