According to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), air passengers will face a cost increase of over a quarter billion next year due to a 33% increase in mandatory security fees. However, revenues from the fees were found to average 12% higher than the actual cost of airport X-ray scanning.. Airport body scans .The federal government raised the fees for the first time since 2010..“The main source of uncertainty relates to the recovery of air passenger demand following the pandemic,” said a PBO report Increasing the Air Travellers Security Charge..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the fees increased effective May 1 from $15 to $20 on round trip domestic flights, from $13 to $17 on US flights and from $26 to $34 on overseas flights..PBO analysts calculated the higher fees would generate an additional $264 million next year..The increase is on top of revenues that in pre-pandemic years generated $823 million in 2018 and $872 million in 2019, according to an Inquiry of Ministry..Actual airport security costs were about 12% less than fee revenue. A 2016 review of the Canada Transportation Act suggested charging fees based on actual expenses..“Canadian travellers already pay one of the highest aviation security fees in the world,” said the review Pathways: Connecting Canada’s Transportation System to the World..The report recommended Parliament charge no more for air security than actual costs of passenger and baggage screening with “light-touch regulations covering fees and charges to protect users.”.“Security charges have exceeded the cost of security screening by an average of 18% every year since 2010 and fail to recognize the national interest in a secure system,” said the report..The Air Travellers Security Charge was started in 2002. During hearings in 2017, members of the Senate Transport committee referred to the fee as a “cash cow” for the government..“That is a major issue,” said then-Senator Terry Mercer (NS). .“It has become a cash cow, not a fee for service.”.“It seems to be a bit of a shell game,” said Mercer..“The money is coming in and gets moved around and you don’t know exactly what came in and what was spent.”.Daniel-Robert Gooch, then-president of the Canadian Airports Council, noted “when it was first set up, there were promises made that funds would go to fund the service” passengers received in security screening..“Not all the funds go to fund the service,” said Gooch..Profits from air security charges are directed to general government revenues..“It is a tax,” said then-Senator Grant Mitchell (AB).
