TSA Ordered to Recalculate Security Fees for Airlines

A federal appeals court ordered the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to review the security fees it charges to airlines for passenger and baggage screening, reports CNNMoney.com. The ruling follows complaints from 22 airlines, including all the major carriers, who claim to have collectively overpaid the TSA by $100 million annually since 2005. The group is looking to recoup those overpayments and reduce the fees going forward.

Roy Goldberg, a lawyer representing the airlines, told CNNMoney that the fees were determined to be unlawful, and expects they’ll go down “substantially” following the court-ordered review. According to CNNMoney, the bulk of the overpayment was due to the inclusion of non-passenger screening in the TSA’s charges.

So the airlines stand to save millions going forward—good for them. Will those savings get passed on to their customers? Probably not directly, in the form of fare or fee relief for example, because we’re not talking about huge sums of money (well, to the airlines). But a reduction in TSA fees, coupled with lower fuel prices, would make it easier for the airlines to run a profitable business. Theoretically, that means they’d have to lean less on their customers going forward, right?