Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is planning new general aviation charges from 1 October, including a $50 landing fee for non-commercial aircraft under 12,500 pounds, a $100 event-period landing fee and higher fuel and hangar costs. The proposal also introduces surge pricing around major Austin events, such as Formula 1, NASCAR, South by Southwest and University of Texas football weekends.
The airport’s fee package would raise the fuel-flowage charge from 10 cents to 12 cents per gallon, with further annual increases planned that would lift it to 20 cents. Hangar rental rates for smaller aircraft would also rise. The changes are tied to a city-backed effort to increase revenue from private-aircraft activity and spread airport costs more evenly across commercial and non-commercial users.
The plan targets a broad slice of light general aviation traffic, including flight schools, private operators and business aviation users that rely on Austin for event-heavy travel. It comes as the airport continues to balance rapidly growing traffic with the infrastructure and operating costs associated with its major seasonal demand peaks.