Austin plans to charge new fees on private and other corporate planes touching down at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, a move city leaders say will make private aviation shoulder more of the airport’s infrastructure costs.

The new fees and revenue, Council Member Vanessa Fuentes says, are intended to make “private wealth work for public good,” as an increasingly busy airport undergoes a multibillion-dollar expansion and renovation.

But the new changes would extend beyond private jets Fuentes has targeted. They would also apply to smaller general aviation aircraft, raising concerns that an effort aimed at wealthy travelers could increase costs for recreational pilots, flight students, and other pilots paying out of pocket.

What changes could take flight

As early as Oct. 1, pilots of non-commercial aircraft could start paying a new landing fee, higher hangar rental fees and a higher fuel rate. The new fees are expected to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue for the airport, but general aviation advocates warn they could have unintended consequences for pilots of modest aircraft who lack the financial resources associated with luxury private jet owners.

“Our folks don’t typically get to pass along those costs … The vast majority of our folks, it’s coming out of their own pocket each time,” said Tom Chandler, a regional manager with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “It’s a cost of getting to Austin and choosing to do business there as well, or to come in and see a show.”

The new fees stem from an Austin City Council resolution, authored by Fuentes, approved in August 2025. It directed the city manager to determine whether the city could raise fuel fees, collect landing fees based on aircraft weight and impose a “surge” landing fee during high-traffic events, such as South by Southwest and Formula 1.

Airports in peer cities, such as Dallas and San Antonio, already impose private aviation fees and use the additional revenue to invest in airport infrastructure projects.

In a memo obtained by Austin Current, Austin’s Aviation Department recommended fee adjustments it believes will keep the airport competitive “among Texas airports, while still generating new airport revenue.”

According to that memo, the changes include a $50 landing fee for noncommercial aircraft and a $100 landing fee during special events, including F1 weekend, NASCAR weekend, SXSW and UT football home games. The city would also increase hangar rental rates for smaller aircraft by 3% and raise the fuel flowage fee at AUS to 12 cents per gallon, followed by 2-cent annual increases for five years, eventually reaching 20 cents per gallon. It is not clear whether the increase to the fuel flowage rate would apply to both commercial and noncommercial aircraft.

While the fees are expected to go into effect at the beginning of October, the airport was unable to confirm whether the rates outlined in the memo are final. It did confirm that the airport recorded 42,683 noncommercial aircraft operations in 2025.

“We just want to make sure that maintaining our airport doesn’t just fall on everyday travelers,” Fuentes said. “For individuals who have the means to travel by private jet, we want to make sure that they also pay their fair share.”

‘Unintended consequences’

Chandler’s organization represents 300,000 members, more than 25,000 of whom live in Texas.

He said he has seen other airports across the country begin charging landing fees but worries Austin’s new fees could discourage pilots of small planes from flying to the city, especially new pilots who need to practice takeoffs and landings in controlled airports.

Austin’s proposed rules apply to small planes weighing less than 12,500 pounds, which Chandler feels is a high enough threshold to financially hurt pilots who own modest light planes. He said some airports with landing fees have set the weight limit lower to address “the flight training issue.”

“To get a private pilot’s license, you’ve got to have 10 takeoffs and landings at a controlled airport. Bam! There’s $500 at $50 a piece,” he said. “That’s a high dollar number for our members.”

Chandler said he understands the reasoning behind airports raising fees for noncommercial aircraft but hopes some of the revenue is reinvested in the parts of the airport used by those planes.

“It’s not that we don’t want to pay our way,” he said. “It’s making sure the fees are right-sized, and they’re going to the right places.”