Rosy spring travel outlook spurs call to upgrade airports

With spring air travel expected to rise to the highest level since 2007, tourism leaders are calling on airlines to invest more of their profits on airport upgrades and to open the door to greater competition. 

About 134.8 million passengers are expected to fly in March and April this year, 2 percent more than last year, according to a recent report by Airlines for America, a trade group for the nation’s carriers. In 2007, 135.1 million passengers flew during that period. The trade group attributes the increase to “rising U.S. employment and personal incomes, an improving economy, the highest consumer sentiment in a decade and the continued affordability of air travel.”

The Obama administration wants to increase a passenger facility charge on airfares to $8 per flight segment from $4.50, and the U.S. Travel Association says those extra fees should be used for airport improvements. But airlines say the higher fee will push down demand.

Los Angeles Times