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This paper examines the federal legal requirements relating to airport ratemaking in the USA and demonstrates that establishing rates by ordinance or resolution is not only consistent with federal law, but also provides certain benefits to airport operators. Airport operators are permitted to establish rates and charges for the use of their airport by air carriers, by ordinance -- an agreement between the airport and the carriers serving the airport is not required. Rates established by ordinance must be fair, reasonable and not unjustly discriminatory and should be established on a compensatory basis; however, different methods may be used for recovering the airport's costs. Before establishing a new method for imposing rates and charges, and generally before establishing new rates periodically, an airport operator must consult with the air carriers using the airport. Although establishing rates and charges by ordinance is complicated and challenging, it provides necessary flexibility for airport operators and also establishes the baseline when seeking to negotiate an agreement with the air carriers operating at the airport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many airports rely on data received from external sources to bill aeronautical charges for the use of their facilities. Billings apply to landing and terminal fees, which are intended to recover the costs associated with constructing and operating airport infrastructure, including runway systems and terminal buildings. This paper addresses the question of whether airports are 'getting enough' in fees for the use of their facilities. By independently observing and recording aircraft landings at a major North American airport and tracing these movements through the airport's billing system, it was observed that the data provided by outside parties to charge for the use of facilities were both incomplete and inaccurate. This means that not all revenues were collected because they were either not billed or incorrectly billed. The results of this investigation suggest that a case can be made for an airport acquiring its own system for capturing and recording aircraft movements. This will ensure correct billings for the use of airport runways and terminal buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]