How FAA is Funded Today | History of FAA Funding | Future Funding of FAA
An Opportunity to Fix the Problem
The various taxes and fees on airline tickets are set to expire. These taxes and fees are used to pay for the operation of the nation’s air traffic control system, and are mandated by Congress. Developing a new ATC system is going to be an expensive ordeal requiring billions of dollars. Fixing the ATC funding scheme is a critical first step to modernization.
Understanding FAA Funding Today
Today, the FAA is funded by two principal sources: The United States General Fund (USGF) which is general taxpayer revenue, and the Airport & Airway Trust Fund (AATF). Together, these two sources provide the FAA with roughly a $14 billion annual budget. FAA uses this money to operate the National Airspace System, fund airports, certify airplanes and countless other tasks that are assigned to the agency.
In 2006, 18% of FAA's budget came from the USGF, but this percentage has fluctuated between 0% and 100%. During the last 10 years, general fund contributions have been as low as 0% and as high as 24%.
The remainder of FAA's budget comes from the Airport & Airway Trust Fund. This trust fund is supported by the users of the aviation system who pay a variety of taxes and fees. For passenger airlines, these taxes and fees are applied to 
tickets. For cargo carriers, a cargo waybill is applied to the value of the shipment. As the example illustrates, these taxes and fees can be hefty; in the example to the right, over $26.00 is contributed to the Airport & Airway Trust Fund.
In addition to these charges, airlines pay a fuel tax of 4.3 cents per gallon. While these taxes and fees are the most common, there are other taxes and fees paid by airlines and their customers. Other segments of the aviation community, like General Aviation, pay into the Airport & Airway Trust Fund primarily through a fuel tax which is collected "at the pump" when refueling aircraft. As a result, different types of users pay vastly different amounts to FAA, even though they may consume the same air traffic control system resources.
| Airlines pay the Largest Share of the Trust Fund |
| Who Uses the ATC System |
Who Pays for the ATC System |  |
The pie chart on the far left demonstrates the percentage of FAA resources consumed by the various user groups, while the chart on the right shows the contribution those user groups make to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Relative to their use of the ATC system, the nation's airlines significantly overpay.
Want to see what a business jet and an airliner pay to fly the same route? Check out our Airport & Airway Trust Fund Calculator