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7 Answers

Where are landing fees listed?

Asked by: 44155 views General Aviation

Something we never talked about in my primary flight training is landing fees.

How does one find out which airports have landing fees, and how much they are?

Are landing fees common?

How are these fees billed?

The legend in the front of the AFD says that landing fees will be mentioned in the "airport remarks" section, but I haven't found mention of it (looking at the AFD entry for SFO as an example: http://aeronav.faa.gov/pdfs/sw_151_5MAY2011.pdf ).

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7 Answers



  1. RM on May 11, 2011

    Airport Facility Directory. I landed a Seminole at Atlanta Hartsfield once cost about 40 bucks I think. FBO is who collected the fee. That has been the only experience I have had.

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  2. @CFI_William on May 11, 2011

    Landing fees are not published in the Airport/Facility Directory. There is only a mention of it if it exists in the “Remarks” section. Some airports have details outlining what type of aircraft will be charged a landing fee, and sometimes, it may depend on if the arriving flight is revenue generating.

    You can get exact details by calling the agency that manages the airport for details or call any FBO on the field.

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  3. Earl Kessler on May 11, 2011

    Hi Tobin,
    You have discovered American aviation’s dirty little secret.  Some of the larger FBOs have found this as a way to gouge the pilot community and it is a good idea to call the airport you are going to fly into to see what the fees are.  A good place to pre-price the cost of going into an airport is to go onto airnav.com or 100LL.com to see which FBOs offer fuel and parking. Most of this time the FBOs phone number will be listed. You can call them and often they will waive the landing fees (ramp fees, handling fees, etc.) if you buy fuel.  Another way to avoid being gouged is to see if there is a public parking area away from the control of the FBO what is not subject to parking or landing fees.  Ask ground or tower when you taxi in (if there is one) or pre-call the airport manager in non-towered airport to see if there is free or economy parking outside of the control of the FBO.
    My most oppressive experience was at Santa Monica (KSMO) where the tower records your N number and sends you a landing fee bill a few days later for use of the public pavement.  Knowing this in advance, it is a good idea to find more GA friendly airports and divert your stops to these reasonable instead of the high-priced guys.

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  4. Kent Shook on May 11, 2011

    It should also be noted that landing fees are different from ramp/handling fees. Generally a “landing fee” goes to the owner of the airport, while ramp or handling fees are levied by the FBO. So, there are LOTS of places where there is no “landing fee” and no mention of it in the A/FD, but the FBO will ding you for a big bill. There are a couple of airports I don’t go to any more (KMKE for example) because they charge on the order of $50 just to show your face, but they’re happy to waive it if you buy 20 gallons of 100LL for $8/gal. >:-(
     
    So, Earl’s suggestion is probably the best one – Use airnav or another such site, or the FBO’s section of ForeFlight, and call ahead.
     

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  5. LovemyGF on Jul 28, 2011

    Go to http://www.airnav.com and call the FBOs located on the field.
    My advice; avoid all Signature Flight Supports at all costs.  $68 “handling fee” (whatever that is), some ungodly landing fee, another ungodly parking fee, and a “facility fee” of some big number (again, what is a facility fee?).  They’ll waive these costs if you purchase often 30 gallons or more of their exuberantly priced avgas, often $8/gallon or more.  Going to a Signature Flight Support will cost you at least $100 in the end. 

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  6. Paco on Apr 16, 2012

     
    Dear All ,
     
    Please i need your support to obtain a list having the definition of all landing fees types (i.e. : TAKE OFF FEES , LANDING NIGHT SURCHARGE , …etc).
     
    Am working in a project and this is very important to me , thud I need the list very badly or at least a website link.
     
    Thanks for your kindness  
     

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  7. Phil Cook on Aug 24, 2013

    In response to Paco: Great idea! We’re all behind you!!

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