Landing Fees Could Discourage Larger Planes, Nighttime Use At Chatham Municipal Airport

CHATHAM – The airport commission knows it can’t prohibit certain planes from using Chatham Municipal Airport, or keep them from landing at night. But it could, potentially, make it more expensive for them to do so.

 At its most recent meeting, the commission discussed changing its landing fee schedule to raise additional revenue for the airport while potentially discouraging use by large planes or ones that operate at night. The proposal, raised by commissioner Michael Cortese at the commission’s April 9 meeting, was built on an analysis of the landing fees charged by airports in Provincetown, Hyannis, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Marshfield and Plymouth. Other airports have a tiered fee schedule based on an aircraft’s weight, but Chatham charges a flat fee of $97 for all planes over 6,000 pounds or those used for hire.

 Cortese proposed a fee of $250 for charter and commuter planes, with a “night accelerator” that adds either a flat fee of $500 or an hourly fee for operations between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. 

 “We’ve got to be careful not to discriminate who we charge,” commission Chair Huntley Harrison said. “If we have a curfew for aircraft — general, across-the-board aircraft — then we might need to come up with some plan for night arrivals” of planes that are both based in Chatham and those from elsewhere, he said.

 Use of the airport by large turbo-prop planes has been a contentious issue. At the May 10 annual town meeting, voters will act on a petition article seeking to ban the aircraft from Chatham Airport.

 Pilot Rene Haas agreed that the landing fees for heavier aircraft are lower than at surrounding airports. 

 “I’m really in favor of having a structure for the heavier aircraft so we’re providing some kind of a mild disincentive to use Chatham versus the competing airports, which would be Hyannis’ Cape Cod Gateway Airport and Provincetown,” he said. Raising fees would hopefully reduce the number of large airplanes using CQX, while generating fees to support the town’s match on airport improvements funded by the state and federal governments.

 “I do think we need to, as a commission, reach out to the FAA to see if there are other ways to, in effect, disincentivize without absolutely banning these larger aircraft, which we cannot do based on the grant assurances that we’ve made to the federal and state governments,” he said.

The new landing schedule would be “a bit of an economic experiment,” Haas added. Fee revenues would go to the airport’s revolving fund, reducing the burden on taxpayers.

 Other airports charge higher landing fees but offer more services to pilots than Chatham does. Chatham’s airport classroom doubles as a pilot lounge, offering an internet connection and an icemaker, but few other amenities. 

 “If you compare our services to other, fancier [airports], we don’t have a huge amount,” Airport Manager Tim Howard said. “But we do have something to offer.” Chiefly, CQX has ample parking and easy vehicle access to the downtown area, beaches and other attractions.

 “We’re in a unique location,” Cortese added.

 Adam Schaefer, the chief operating officer of Tradewind Aviation — which operates turboprop Pilatus PC-12 aircraft in Chatham — said it’s unfair to compare landing fees with places like Atlantic Aviation in Hyannis, which has luxurious amenities for charter travelers.

 “Including Atlantic Aviation fees into your market comparison is a bit of an apples-and-oranges comparison,” he said. Schaefer had no comment about the proposed nighttime surcharges.

 “I think we offer at least as much in terms of services, amenities, convenience and lack of traffic as either Hyannis or Provincetown,” pilot Hart Fessenden said. Nighttime fees are not unusual among airports, he noted. “If you’re going to be operating after hours, there are certain consequences for all of us Chatham citizens for the disturbance that that makes,” Fessenden said.

 Select board member Michael Schell, the liaison to the airport commission, praised the commission for advancing the Fly Friendly program that aims to reduce the impacts of airplane noise on area residents, and said he supports exploring the new landing fee schedule. Disincentivizing nighttime use “is something that would be salutary for the neighborhood,” he said. Whether planes are large or small, for private use or for hire, limiting after-hours use “would be a very useful thing in terms of your relationship with the community,” Schell said.

 Harrison asked Cortese to draft a formal proposal for the commission to consider, likely after town meeting. The goal should be to treat aircraft operators fairly, “but yet at the same time, I want to treat our citizens equitably and fairly,” he said. Discussion of the landing fees is evidence that the commission is listening to neighbors’ concerns about noise and activity, he said.

 “I think it’s a step in the right direction. And I think we’re going to wind up doing something pretty good for the town,” Harrison said. 

 Cortese said the airport commission is there to ensure proper access for aviators, “but we also work for the townspeople as well.”