Cabinet last year pocketed millions in excess fees from airline passengers, new government records show, raising questions about the ongoing Air Travelers Security Surcharge. Blacklock's Reporter says the mandatory charge, introduced in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks, continues to collect more from travellers than is spent on security.Records tabled in the House of Commons show the treasury collected $1.498 billion in 2025 but spent only $1.13 billion on security, leaving a $368.5 million surplus. In 2024, revenues of $1.16 billion exceeded spending of $1.05 billion, an overcharge of $113.4 million.Conservative MP Chris Lewis (Essex, Ont.) requested the figures, asking how much had been collected from passengers since January 1, 2023. The government has defended the surcharge, saying it aims to balance revenue with air travel security systems over time.The fee itself has risen sharply. Cabinet increased the domestic round-trip surcharge from $15 to $20 last year, U.S. flights from $13 to $17, and overseas travel from $26 to $34. Airlines pass the charge directly to passengers, with no control over the amount, according to Jeff Morrison, CEO of the National Airlines Council. .“That charge gets automatically added to the ticket price,” he told a 2023 Senate finance committee.Labour groups have also criticized the surcharge. In 2014, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said passengers were not receiving security services corresponding to what they paid. “This is a tax on the flying public,” said vice president Dave Ritchie.A 2015 statutory review of the Transportation Act, led by retired industry minister David Emerson, recommended “light touch regulations covering fees and charges” at airports. Emerson’s report found security charges had exceeded actual screening costs by an average of 18% annually since 2010.
