Bill Signed into Law Limits TSA-Imposed Security Fees

A bipartisan legislation that limits TSA passenger security fees for U.S.-bound flights has been signed into law.

U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law H.R. 5462, which limits the passenger security fees that can be imposed by the TSA for round-trip flights to and within the U.S.

The bipartisan bill, which passed unanimously in Congress 423-0 last September, allows the TSA to charge $5.60 per one-way trip, but caps the fees at $11.20. In last December’s Balanced Budget Act of 2013, passenger security fees were increased from $2.50 to $5.60 per one-way trip, but there were no caps on the amount of fees that could be charged.

According to an article from Air Transport World, by July 2013, Airlines for America (A4A), the airline’s industry watchdog, had reported that TSA was charging for multiple stopovers on the same domestic flight, which has A4A President and CEO Nicolas Calio said “disproportionally hurt customers from small and rural communities who must often use more one-way trips to reach their final destination.”

The bill was originally sponsored by North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, who previously told The Hill that the legislation was necessary because “the TSA had misinterpreted the increase on airline security fees outlined by the 2013 budget agreement by charging more than twice the amount for round trips as for one-way trips.”

With the new language, the bill states clearly that “fees shall be $5.60 per one way trip … except that the fee imposed per round trip shall not exceed $11.20.” The bill does not mention the final destination for collected fees, and directs all fees to the government’s general fund, ATW noted.

[Photo: iStock]