City can use passenger fees for O'Hare modernization plan

CHICAGO -- The Federal Aviation Administration ruled Tuesday that city officials can use more than $1 billion collected from passenger fees to fund the massive O'Hare International Airport expansion project.

The city already collects the $4.50 fee, but Tuesday's decision marks the first time it can use the so-called passenger facility charge for the O'Hare Modernization Project, according to the FAA.

The project is slated to be the largest airport expansion in the nation's history. Officials hope it will decrease delays and increase capacity at the country's second-busiest airport, considered a perennial knot in the nation's aviation system.

"It's important for not only Chicago and our region but the larger picture," said Rosemarie Andolino, executive director of the O'Hare Modernization Program.

The city currently uses the passenger charges for other projects. The FAA's decision also extends the $4.50 fee from June 1, 2016, through May 1, 2024.

The extension is not a new cost for travelers, who already pay the fee, officials said.

The $1.29 billion in funding will be split between O'Hare and Gary/Chicago International Airport, with the bulk going toward runway improvements at O'Hare, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.

About $270 million of the money will go toward the purchase of land near O'Hare, he said.

The O'Hare expansion project will increase the number of takeoffs and landings the airport can accommodate, Andolino said. A new runway scheduled to open in November 2008 is expected to decrease O'Hare's average delay to 16 minutes from 22, she said.

The FAA estimates the expansion will enable the airport to handle about 1.2 million takeoffs and landings by 2018, up from 950,000 this year.