LANDING AND AIRPORT FEES

Charlotte City Code ch. 4, art. II

in effect

Charlotte City Code § 4-31 Definitions.

Sec. 4-31. - Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Airport means the facility known as Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Airport use agreement means any agreement between the city and persons who operate aircraft for hire at the airport, including, but not limited to, scheduled passenger and cargo airlines and charter businesses (referred to as "commercial operators"), which agreement provides for the commercial operator to pay landing fees to the city. Public aircraft facility (P.A.F.) means those portions of the airport provided for the landing, takeoff and taxiing of aircraft, including, but not limited to, navigational aids, hazard designation and warning devices, airfield security roads, fencing, lighting and clear zone areas, pursuant to the provisions of the standard agreement. Public general aviation facilities means those portions of the airport made available for general aviation use as the fixed base operator area as that area is defined and designated from time to time pursuant to the terms of the standard agreement. Standard agreement means that airport use agreement entitled "Charlotte/Douglas International Airport Amended and Restated Airport Agreement and Lease," entered into in 1985 by the city and USAir, Inc. (now known as US Airways), including all amendments thereto. (Code 1985, § 4-21)

Charlotte City Code § 4-32 Commercial activity use permit.

Sec. 4-32. - Commercial activity use permit. No person shall carry on or conduct any commercial activity at, upon or from the airport without first securing a use permit issued by the aviation director unless such activity is undertaken pursuant to a duly authorized and executed lease, contract or other written agreement between such person and the city. The aviation director may require permittees to pay fees to the city as a condition of engaging in commercial activity at, upon or from the airport. A violation of this section may be punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor and be subject to a maximum fine not to exceed $500.00 pursuant to G.S. 160A-175 and G.S. 14-4. (Code 1985, § 4-5; Ord. No. 278, § 1, 4-4-2022)

Charlotte City Code § 4-33 Permit required for commercial photographic activity.

Sec. 4-33. - Permit required for commercial photographic activity. No person, other than official representatives of news media on duty or during official assignments, shall take still, motion or sound pictures for commercial purposes at or upon the airport without first having obtained the permission of the aviation director. The aviation director may charge a fee for such activities. (Code 1985, § 4-6)

Charlotte City Code § 4-34 Aviation fueling permit.

Sec. 4-34. - Aviation fueling permit. It shall be unlawful for any person to deliver aviation fuel to any person on the airport premises, to deliver aviation fuel into aircraft at the airport, or to maintain fuel storage facilities on the airport without having received and obtained an aviation fueling permit from the city, which, subject to safety and other operational limitations, may be issued by the aviation director. (Code 1985, § 4-22)

Charlotte City Code § 4-35 Ground handling permit.

Sec. 4-35. - Ground handling permit. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in ground handling on airport premises without having received a ground handling permit from the aviation director. Ground handling includes, but is not limited to, performing any of the following services on the air operations area: (1) Aircraft maintenance; (2) Ramp service/ground handling for aircraft; (3) Ground equipment rental and maintenance; (4) Exterior aircraft cleaning; and (5) Into-plane fueling.

Charlotte City Code § 4-36 Landing fees.

Sec. 4-36. - Landing fees. (a) Established. Landing fees are hereby established for the use of the public aircraft facility (P.A.F.). (b) Payment. Persons other than commercial operators shall pay fees for the use of the P.A.F. in a manner to be determined by the aviation director, including, without limitation, fuel and oil flowage charges (the current practice) and/or by minimum flat rate fees. (c) Amount. Every commercial operator shall pay to the city a landing fee as follows: (1) The landing fee shall be based upon the maximum gross landing weight, as certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for each and every aircraft landed at the airport by a commercial operator. (2) The amount of the landing fee per 1,000 pounds shall be established pursuant to the provisions of the standard agreement. (3) Every commercial operator shall furnish to the city a complete and accurate monthly report of its operations at the airport. The report shall be in a form satisfactory to the aviation director and at a minimum shall state the following: a. The total number of landings for the month by type of aircraft. b. The maximum gross certified landing weight of each aircraft type. c. The total number of enplaning and deplaning passengers in the month. d. The amount of cargo, freight and mail loaded and unloaded in each month. The report shall be delivered to the aviation director no later than the tenth day of the following month. (Code 1985, § 4-23)

Charlotte City Code § 4-37 Fuel flowage fee.

Sec. 4-37. - Fuel flowage fee. (a) Imposed. A fuel flowage fee is hereby imposed upon each gallon of aviation fuel delivered at the airport into any aircraft that is not being operated by a commercial operator at the time of the delivery. (b) Payment. The holders of permits issued pursuant to section 4-34 shall be responsible for the collection and remittance of the fuel flowage fee imposed by this section. Payment shall be made to the aviation director no later than the 15th day of the month following the month during which the delivery or activity giving rise to the fee occurred. (c) Amount. The aviation director for each fiscal year shall determine the fuel flowage fee for each gallon unless changed by the city council, based upon the following formula: (1) A contribution to the cost of providing the public aircraft facility (P.A.F.) consisting of: a. Fifty percent of total operations at the airport by general aviation aircraft during the previous fiscal period, July 1 through July 30 (taken from Federal Aviation Administration Form 7230-1 "Airport Traffic Record," compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control Tower at the airport or successor documents maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration to record a compilation of aircraft operations at the airport); multiplied by b. The then-applicable fee per 1,000 pounds as established pursuant to the standard agreement; multiplied by c. An assumed average landing weight for general aviation aircraft of 8,694 pounds, subject to the discretion of the aviation director to adjust such assumed average landing weight based upon periodic surveys indicating a material change in the mix of general aviation aircraft using the airport; plus (2) A contribution to the cost of providing public general aviation facilities consisting of: a. A return to the city sufficient to amortize the city's cost of providing public general aviation facilities over 20 years at ten percent, including an amount attributable to land value equal to the then fair rental of the acreage within the general aviation cost center as such may be designated from time to time pursuant to the provisions of the standard agreement; plus b. That part of the cost incurred during the previous fiscal period of maintaining and operating the city's public general aviation facilities that is not otherwise recouped by the city from users; plus c. That part of the cost during the previous fiscal period of providing airport services, as that term is defined in the standard agreement, attributed to the general aviation cost center as that area is designated from time to time pursuant to the terms of the standard agreement. (3) Divided by the total number of gallons of aviation fuel with respect to which a fuel flowage fee was paid during the previous fiscal period. (d) Records sufficient to determine fee. Each holder of a permit issued under this article shall be responsible for maintaining records sufficient to determine the correct amount of fuel flowage fees that should be collected and remitted to the aviation director. The records shall be maintained and submitted in a form described in the aviation fueling permit (Code 1985, § 4-24)

Charlotte City Code § 4-38 Contract facility charge ("CFC") on rental car contracts at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Sec. 4-38. - Contract facility charge ("CFC") on rental car contracts at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. (a) Commencing July 1, 2007, each rental car company that meets the definition of "tenant RACs" in section 4-102 of this chapter shall collect a daily contract facility charge ("CFC") from each customer who contracts for or receives delivery of a rental vehicle at the airport. (b) The initial amount of the CFC ("CFC amount") is hereby established as $3.50 per rental car contract for each day or part thereof that the vehicle is rented to the customer. The city manager or the aviation director may increase or decrease the CFC amount from time to time as necessary to provide sufficient revenue in each fiscal year to pay the costs and expenses set forth in subsection (f) of this section. (c) All CFCs collected by tenant RACs are and shall be trust funds held for the benefit of the city. Tenant RACs and their agents shall hold no legal or equitable interest in the CFCs. Each tenant RAC shall segregate, separately account for and disclose all CFCs as trust funds in its financial statements, and shall maintain adequate records that account for all CFCs charged and collected. Failure to segregate the CFCs shall not alter or eliminate their trust fund nature. The city shall have the right to audit the CFC records upon reasonable notice. (d) Each tenant RAC shall remit all CFCs that were collected or should have been collected to the city on a monthly basis together with a statement of the number of rental contracts for the month, as well as the length of the rental period and the CFC collected for each such rental contract. The CFCs shall be remitted by the 25th day of the month following the month the CFCs were collected. (e) Failure to strictly comply with this section shall constitute a material breach, of the tenant RACs concession agreement and facility lease with the city. (f) The city shall use the proceeds of the CFC solely for: (1) The costs of planning, acquiring, constructing and financing improvements to the current or future rental car facilities at the airport; (2) The debt service on obligations issued by or on behalf of the city to plan, acquire and construct the current or future rental car facilities, at the airport; (3) The costs of operating, maintaining and repairing the current or future rental car facilities at the airport; (4) The prepayment of the indebtedness incurred by the city to plan, acquire and construct the current or future rental car facilities at the airport; (5) To compensate the city for any amounts due the city from and not otherwise paid by the tenant RACs pursuant to the concession agreements and facility leases in effect between the city and the tenant RACs. (Ord. No. 3604, § 1, 5-29-2007)

Source: City of Charlotte, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nc/charlotte/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH4AV_ARTIILAAIFEFetched: 10/27/2026