US carriers push for national airline policy as red tape, tax burdens threaten to crush their plans

Costly new regulations imposed by the US government designed to protect consumers and a spate of looming new taxes have galvanised the country's airlines to launch a full-scale campaign to communicate the urgency surrounding the need to create a national airline policy. The stakes are incredibly high as some of the proposed taxes could hike the industry's costs by USD36 billion over the next decade, and the heavy hand of government regulation ushers in new rules that could also add billions of dollars in compliance expenses for US carriers that are working tirelessly to prove their nascent profitability has staying power.

US industry trade group Airlines For America (A4A) started its campaign to convince government of the necessity for a national airline policy in late 2011 as the administration of US President Barack Obama proposed a USD100 tax on every flight and a tripling of the security taxes over a five year period.