Denver International Airport has struck a three-year deal with airlines to direct its share of state aviation fuel-tax revenues collected from carriers – approximately $7 million annually – toward the airport’s $31 million snow plan.
The airlines would have otherwise had to pay for the snow plan through increased fees. Carriers had been lobbying for a reduction in their fuel taxes for years, but this deal allows them to cut costs without decreasing the amount of tax they pay on fuel.
“It will benefit all the airlines,” DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon said.
DIA and other airports in Colorado collect fuel taxes for the state, and 65 percent is returned to the collecting airport.
DIA decided to spend $31 million on a snow plan, including new equipment for snow removal, after December’s blizzard shut down the airport for 45 hours.
“It’s essential for the carriers and the airport for us to be as efficient as we can with snow operations,” DIA deputy manager Sally Covington said. “It’s a high cost.”
She said using the fuel-tax revenues for the snow plan is “a way for us to be able to mitigate the cost to the carriers in a fair way.”
United Airlines has led the lobbying for fuel-tax relief, and a spokeswoman said the airline is pleased with the Denver agreement.
Meanwhile, state aviation and DIA officials have asked the state to conduct an audit of fuel-tax collections at DIA.
“We’ve seen a fairly significant drop in the collection of fuel tax out at Denver,” while there’s been an increase in passenger traffic, state aeronautics director Travis Vallin said.
Fuel suppliers and local governments report fuel sales and collect taxes, and a typical problem is that taxes are unintentionally being credited to the incorrect account, Vallin said.
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com
