Lowers Landing Fee To Five Dollars

Following a series of complaints from pilots, a controversial $20 "Facility Fee" at Block Island Airport (KBID) has been permanently suspended, and the landing fee has been reduced from $15 to $5 by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC).

The Block Island Times reports that the announcement was made by James Warcup, the aeronautics inspector for RIAC. He said that pilots balked at paying the $20 fee each time they landed, and would stop using the airport. "A more competitive fee will get us back in the game," he said.

But the corporation cautioned that a new revenue stream would need to be identified to help support the airport. Still, RIAC officials said they wanted to work with airport stakeholders and island businesses to come up with "creative solutions" to collect new revenue.

The RAIC said it would also work to do a better job of collecting the landing fee from pilots who use the airport. Warcup said that of the 8,000 or so airplanes that landed at KBID in the past 12 months, the fee had been collected from fewer than 1,500 pilots.

Alan Andrade, the Senior Vice President for Operations and Maintenance for RIAC, said that officials want more traffic at KBID, not less. Before the last recession, he said there were about 11,000 landing per year at the airport, and a goal to get back to that level had been established. "We want the traffic," he said, "but we need the community to make that happen."

FMI: http://www.pvdairport.com/corporate/ri-airport-corporation