The Federal Aviation Administration has laid into the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over the fees it charges airlines at Newark Airport.
The regulator called out the Port Authority for a lack of transparency of its fee schedule.
There is ‘no established, consistent, clear and fully justified method of establishing the rate base on a predictable schedule’ the FAA says of the fees charged.
The FAA backed a long running complaint from main airline customer United Airlines that the Port Authority used revenues to fund non-airport related projects.
"Use of airport revenue on facilities not owned by PANYNJ clearly burdens airport users, including United," said Kevin Willis, a FAA airport compliance executive.
Airlines at Newark are ‘improperly subsidizing’ some non-related projects, he said.
In a complaint dating back several years, United claimed fees are about 75% higher than at New York’ JFK Airport.
The FAA put the Port Authority on 30-day notice to show how much airport revenue has been diverted to other projects since 2012.
It was also ordered to correct rates and fees and adjust how it allocates costs in a more transparent way.
The Port Authority said it plans to appeal the order.
"We are pleased to see the FAA take seriously the concerns we raised," United said in a statement.
