Pitkin County Commissioners Approve Reduced 2027 Landing Fee Increase at Aspen Airport

Pitkin County commissioners approved on first reading a 2027 landing fee schedule for Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. The vote was 4-1. The schedule raises fees sharply, though by less than the rates that were reviewed at an Oct. 20 work session.

The plan combines two elements: deferral of some costs of this year's airport redevelopment "enabling" projects to 2028, and a $3 million subsidy drawn from the airport's fund balance.

If the schedule is approved on second reading, the fee would be $24.24 per 1,000 pounds for commercial airlines operating year-round and $19.40 per 1,000 pounds for general aviation. The current rates are $12.05 and $13.76 per 1,000 pounds.

Airport landing fees are typically set to recover the costs of running and improving the facility, so a capital program such as a redevelopment feeds directly into the rate that airlines and general aviation operators pay. The approach taken here, pushing part of the project cost into 2028 and covering part of the gap from reserves, shows two levers a county-owned airport can use to soften a one-year step change. Both only move the cost in time or between accounts; they do not remove it from the airport's books.

For general aviation operators, the proposed rate would be higher than today's, and the gap between the general aviation and commercial rates would narrow, with the commercial year-round rate moving above the general aviation rate. Anyone budgeting Aspen trips for 2027 has a clearer number to plan around than after the work session, though it is not final.

The next milestone is the second reading, at which the schedule would be formally adopted. The 4-1 first-reading vote indicates a majority in favor but leaves the final numbers open until that second vote.