Aviation agency criticises US for entry fee plan

The International Civil Aviation Organisation has criticised Washington over a budget proposal to charge travellers a $5.50 fee for entering the United States by air or sea.

Raymond Benjamin, secretary general of the UN aviation watchdog based in Montreal, said the new fee would be “bad” for aviation.

He also decried a “strong tendency” by governments worldwide of targeting the airline industry to raise monies whenever they are short of revenues.

“If it’s for environmental reasons, that’s fine. If it’s just to improve a country’s finances, that’s entirely different,” Mr Benjamin said.

“It’s an easy decision, there won’t be protests in the streets if airline passengers are taxed,” he explained. “And it’s easy to tack fees onto an airline ticket. The airlines collect and remit it, requiring no effort on the part of the government, which gets paid.”

The fee is already charged to most international travellers entering the US, but Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean were exempted.

US President Barack Obama proposed the expanded fee in his 2012 draft budget released this week to help pay for airport security checks and inspections.

Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper slammed the fee, saying it would hurt the integrated North American economy.

“In terms of the economic recovery, we want to ensure that trade and travel between our countries is easier, not more difficult, and we don’t need additional taxes on that kind of economic activity,” Mr Harper told reporters.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security, the rule change could bring in nearly $110 million in additional revenues, but Canadian travellers would end up paying the bulk of this, said Canadian media.