Senate Appropriations Committee Approves DOT/FAA Funding Bill with PFC and AIP Increases

27-Jul-2017 The Senate Appropriations Committee has just approved a FY 2018 funding bill for DOT/FAA that would raise the PFC cap to $8.50 for originating passengers and increase AIP funding by $250 million. The bill was approved on a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 31-0. Committee members did not consider any amendments addressing the PFC increase during today's meeting. Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) said that the DOT funding measure "provides opportunities for airports to make much-needed capacity improvements." As we reported earlier this week, the Senate DOT funding bill would increase the federal PFC cap by $4 for originating passengers but keep the $4.50 limit in place for connecting passengers as a way to address concerns raised by rural state lawmakers that their constituents often pay twice the amount in PFCs as travelers with direct flights. The bill would also increase AIP funding from $3.35 billion to $3.6 billion in FY 2018.