The waiver of landing fees at Hawai’i airports after September 11 that saved airlines nearly $16 million will come to an end on Monday, April 1. No fooling. Gov. Ben Cayetano said this week the state cannot afford to continue
The waiver of landing fees at Hawai’i airports after September 11 that saved airlines nearly $16 million will come to an end on Monday, April 1.
No fooling.
Gov. Ben Cayetano said this week the state cannot afford to continue the waiver of landing fees at state airports that began a week after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.
Fees collected from the carriers, by weight of aircraft upon arrival, help feed the self-supporting state airports system, and without those and other revenues the state had to tap $37 million in cash reserves in order to continue operating.
The cash reserves were initially earmarked for airport capital improvement projects.
It was not immediately known yesterday whether or not tapping into the cash reserves will delay or stall some planned improvement projects at Lihu’e Airport or other state airports.
Jean Oshita, deputy director of the state Department of Transportation in charge of the Airports Division, said after September 11th the state reprioritized capital expenditure plans in order to meet stricter security requirements, so capital improvements have taken something of a back burner.
Cayetano waived landing fees a week after the attacks, hoping the savings to carriers would preserve jobs, help maintain flight schedules and assist in stimulating air travel after tourism’s dramatic downturn.
“After the September 11th attacks, we sought to do what we could to ensure the effects on our tourism industry would not be long-lasting,” said Cayetano. “The state, in managing the cash reserves that were tapped to provide the landing-fee waiver, has always considered the greater good of the public.
“As tourism continues to improve, the continuation of the waiver is simply no longer affordable,” he said.
The waiver afforded approximately $15.8 million in savings to the airlines for the period from September 18 of last year through next Thursday, Feb. 28, the state estimates. Oshita said Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines combined enjoyed $4.7 million of savings during that period.
The carriers will continue to benefit from not having to pay landing fees all next month as well.
But the combination of losses in revenues to the state from carriers through the landing fees, and discounted lease rents afforded to airport concessionaires after their businesses took hits following the attacks, ended up costing the state around $37 million in lost revenues.
The decision to reinstate the landing fees won’t have an impact on airport concessionaires. They will continue benefiting from lowered rents now based on percentages of gross sales, as the state decided after September 11 to waive contractual minimum guarantee rents for airport vendors.
