Kenai airport eyes automated fee system amid pilot privacy backlash

The Kenai Airport Commission is weighing a contract to automatically bill aircraft landing fees using tracking technology that includes ADS-B, a surveillance system pilots installed to comply with federal airspace rules. A commission member told staff the airport lost more than $140,000 in uncollected transient landing fees last year. Commissioner Jim warned the ability to use ADS-B may be going away.

Airport staff propose contracting with Vector Airport Systems to track and bill aircraft over 4,000 pounds using data from ADS-B and other sources including FlightAware and FlightRadar. Airport manager Mary said Vector negotiated a 12 percent commission and a 99.6 percent collection rate. Mary said the installation would have no upfront cost and would involve two ADS-B receivers sent for free.

ADS-B Out is a federally required surveillance technology in specified controlled airspace, adopted as a safety and compliance system rather than a fee-collection tool. Pilot groups and reports have challenged third-party use of ADS-B data for landing-fee billing, citing privacy concerns and inaccurate invoices. A group of pilots launched an online petition in April asking the FAA to ban the use of ADS-B data by third-party vendors for billing landing fees, specifically citing Vector Airport Systems and arguing that ADS-B was introduced as a safety tool, not a revenue mechanism.

The House passed the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act in 2025. The bill is pending in the Senate.

Mary offered a counterpoint. "We can terminate the contract. We already had a conference call with them yesterday, and the city attorney was also in the call. Because we were questioning about the legalities of government entities billing for aircraft fees with this system." Mary also told commissioners that Vector says it could pivot to camera-based technology if ADS-B restrictions are enacted, though that technology would be more expensive and the cost could easily be built into the fee structure.

Commissioners and staff discussed alternative fee-collection methods including QR-code parking payment systems similar to those used at Merrill Field in Anchorage, where pilots scan codes at parking spots to pay transient fees.

The Kenai City Council is scheduled to vote June 17 on a resolution to award the contract and implement the system July 1. The contract is an implementation step for an airport billing upgrade the city adopted in its budget earlier this year.