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US air space fees

R

Ron B.

Well Known Member
Just had a visit from a friend from BC. He flew over some US air space to get here and a flight adviser from Nav. Canada mentioned that the US is now charging so much per 100 miles for Canadian aircraft using there air space. Said that if you land in the US the fee is waived. I have never heard of this and neither did he.
Anyone hear of such a thing or is this advisor full of hot air? I guess we will know in time if he gets invoiced.
 
Yikes! 57 cents a mile isn't that bad for a bizjet or an airliner, but for GA that's pretty steep! I'm surprised AOPA/COPA haven't tried to lobby for lower GA rates...
 
Then I would make it a point to land somewhere in the U.S. Perhaps a touch & go and keep on rocking?
 
I see in the link above that this fee has been in place since 2012. I've over flew the US airspace since then and have never been billed.
 
Bob, Air Canada is a publicly traded airline. They have nothing to do with fees charged by Nav Canada. They are set and approved by the Government of Canada.

Cheers Jim
 
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I suspect it would only be if you are on an IFR flight plan as class E is not controlled for VFR traffic.

Europe operates a per km nav charge scheme for all traffic on an IFR flight plan, but it is based on MTOW and is free below 2000kg.
 
"Does landing for customs counts?"

Of course, since presumably if you're going through customs you're not just crossing airspace but actually going to a destination point in the US and landing there ...
 
I've flown IFR over US airspace many times since 2012, on my way from southern Ontario to Nova Scotia. A typical flight would have me in US airspace for over 300 nm each way, with no stops in the US. I have never been charged this fee.
 
No charge for our Northerly Neighbors?

14 CFR Part 187 Appendix B: Fees for FAA Services for Certain Flights

...
(c) Canada-to-Canada flights. This appendix will not apply to any operator of a flight that takes off and lands in Canada, without an intermediate stop outside Canada, that operates in U.S.-controlled airspace.
...
 
"Is this some sort of "retaliation" due to Nav Canada doing likewise?"

No retaliation to be had ... Nav Canada is a private company charging the users of its services for services rendered. Nothing bad there, or worth retaliating against.

The FAA is a publicly funded agency, by the US tax payer. So it would make sense that US tax payers get to use its services without any further charges, but that non-US tax payers be charged for the services.

The link above has contact information ... you can try contacting them about it ... there's also a full document on the history of these fees and how they came to be, etc ... rather dry reading however ...
 
kamikaze said:
"Is this some sort of "retaliation" due to Nav Canada doing likewise?"

No retaliation to be had ... Nav Canada is a private company charging the users of its services for services rendered. Nothing bad there, or worth retaliating against.

The FAA is a publicly funded agency, by the US tax payer. So it would make sense that US tax payers get to use its services without any further charges, but that non-US tax payers be charged for the services.

The link above has contact information ... you can try contacting them about it ... there's also a full document on the history of these fees and how they came to be, etc ... rather dry reading however ...
Click to expand...

Yes the FAA is publicly funded by US tax payers but the ATC system is also funded by the federal aviation fuel tax not just US tax payers. If you didn't stop in a US airport there was no opportunity to recover funds for ATC services, hence the charge. The Canada exemption is based on "assumed" reciprocity. At least that is the "theory" behind the law. And it is a law so the FAA has very little say in who or how to charge these fees.

:cool:
 
It says US-Controlled airspace... Perhaps that only applies to airspace where you are positively controlled?
 
Snowflake said:
It says US-Controlled airspace... Perhaps that only applies to airspace where you are positively controlled?
Click to expand...

No. It applies to the service(s) you receive, as identified in the law, regardless of airspace. Controlled means controlled by the U.S. and not just limited to positive controlled airspace. An example is if you call FSS for a WX update, even if VFR in uncontrolled airspace, you trigger the charge. The law is very specific as to which services trigger the charge and the FAA has no say in these services or charges. But again, the law exempts Canada to Canada flights from these charges.

:cool:
 
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