A passenger facility charge (PFC) is a fee that almost all airline travelers in the United States pay in their ticket price. The fee goes toward the upkeep and maintenance of airports, and is set up and capped according to US federal law.

The law allows airports to charge up to $4.50 for every enplaned passenger at public agency-controlled commercial airports.

The Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) program was established by the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990, which was signed into law on November 5, 1990. The legislation allowed the Secretary of Transportation to grant a public agency that controls a commercial service airport the authority to impose a local fee of $1, $2, or $3 per enplaned passenger.

The law requires airports to use PFC revenue for FAA-approved eligible projects that:

• “preserve or enhance capacity, safety, or security of the national air transportation system;

• reduce noise resulting from an airport which is part of such system; or

• provide an opportunity for enhanced competition between or among air carriers and foreign air carriers.”

Beginning June 1, 1992, commercial airports that were controlled by public agencies began collecting passenger facility charges. The charges were added to airline tickets and, at the time, were $3 per passenger, per leg. Effective 2001, due to passage of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, Congress raised the PFC cap to $4.50 per ticket or $18 per round trip.

For additional information on the PFC Program, go to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website.