CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM The state is reinstating airport landing fees, which were suspended in the wake of Sept. 11, Gov. Ben Cayetano said yesterday.

Hawaii to reinstate
airport landing fees

The fees were waived after
the Sept. 11 attacks

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Star-Bulletin staff

The state can no longer afford to waive airport landing fees for the airlines and is reinstating the fees beginning in April, Gov. Ben Cayetano said yesterday.

"As tourism continues to improve, the continuation of the waiver is simply no longer affordable," Cayetano said.

The state waved the fees to help the airlines cope with the drop in travel caused by the Sept. 11 attacks. The move will have cost the state about $15.8 million in revenue from Sept. 18 through Feb. 28, Cayetano said.

Hawaii's airport system is supposed to pay for itself through the fees, along with concessions from airport tenants.

However, the state also waived the minimum base concessions to help the tenants, including retailer DFS Hawaii, and has tapped about $21.1 million of its reserves to cover a shortfall from the concessions.

All told, the state has tapped $37 million of the airports' cash reserves, Cayetano said.

The Airlines Committee of Hawaii said it hopes to keep landing fees from rising.

"While airlift to Hawaii is starting to improve, airlines across the country continue to face serious financial challenges," the committee said in a statement.