Would you pay $23 for self-serve fuel and a portable toilet? That’s a question for pilots who intend to fly into California’s Humboldt County need to ask themselves because the county has contracted with Vector Airport Systems’ PlanePass to manage the landing and transient parking tracking and billing program at the four county-run airports.
As of March 1, transient pilots received a bill for landing at California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport (KACV), Murray Field (KEKA), Rohnerville Airport (KFOT), and Garberville Airport (O16).
- READ MORE: Are Landing Fees Legal?
Vector PlanePass tracks aircraft activity through automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) and then sends a bill to the owner of the aircraft for landing at one of the contracted airports.
“Aircraft based in the County of Humboldt airport system will not be charged landing or parking fees,” stated a media release from the Humboldt board of supervisors. “Landing fees for ACV, EKA, FOT, and O16 are currently charged using the time of arrival. Vector will assess and bill landing and parking fees in accordance with the County of Humboldt’s fee schedule.”
The fees are calculated using the aircraft’s FAA-certified MLW. Vector transmits a monthly invoice to an aircraft’s registered owner or management company after the conclusion of each month.
Humboldt County pilots found out about the county’s arrangement with Vector for PlanePass through a memo from the board of supervisors. FLYING received a copy of the memo, dated February 15, 2025, which states “effective March 1, 2025, Vector Airport Systems (“Vector”) will assume the billing and collection of aircraft landing and parking fees on behalf of the County of Humboldt, Department of Aviation for four of its airports.”
The memo noted that aircraft based in the County of Humboldt airport system will not be charged landing or parking fees.
FLYING received several screen captures from ForeFlight made by pilots who were surprised by the landing fee at Murray Field, which is little more than an unlighted 3,000-foot runway, a self-serve fueling station, and a portable toilet. The pilots noted they would not land in Humboldt County again but would instead refuel at Del Norte Country Regional Airport (KCEC) in Crescent City, California, some 59 nm to the north. KCEC does not have a landing fee, and the self-serve 100LL was selling for $6.99 a gallon as opposed to Murray Field, where 100LL was $7.20 a gallon.
Landing Fees Are Not New
For decades, nontowered airports have used mailbox kiosks to collect transient fees from visiting pilots. These fees, usually $5-$10 a day for parking, were used to cover the cost of providing wheel chocks and/or tie-down ropes (and replacing them as they wear out). Some airports even have a pilot planning room and restroom facilities.
The fees are often collected on the honor system with the pilot putting money in a drop box or making an electronic payment with a QR code. There are some pilots who don’t pay, but many more that do.
But it’s not so much about the money, according to Lee Rector, a Humboldt County-based pilot. It’s about the idea that ADS-B-based landing fees will create a safety issue by incentivizing operating without ADS-B.
“Using a flight safety system for tracking people and collecting fees has already proven dangerous,” Rector said.
Rector noted that the aviation community is close-knit, and it has heard from pilots outside the area who won’t be visiting in their aircraft, leaving the county to lose out on the money they would spend on rental cars, hotel rooms, Uber, restaurants, fuel, etc.
FLYING made several attempts to reach out to Humboldt County officials for comment, but calls and emails were not returned.
According to Rector and several other pilots who contacted FLYING, Humboldt County did not ask for input from the aviation community or even from the Humboldt County Aviation Advisory Committee before signing the contract with Vector PlanePass.
“The county just pushed it through,” Rector said. “It was pushed through while the county lacked an official director of aviation.”
The county’s last aviation director, Cody Roggatz, abruptly resigned in September 2024, and no replacement has been named. However, a review of information about Humboldt County airports on Airnav.com still lists Roggatz as the manager of several airports.
Backlash Across the Country
Humboldt County is not the only place where pilots are objecting to ADS-B being used as a revenue source.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is actively tracking similar stories from around the country where pilots are fighting back against the implementation of landing fees. One way they are attempting to do this is by redacting their information on the FAA database so it is not available to third-party vendors or the public.
Aircraft owners can access the FAA’s Civil Aviation Registry Electronic Services page and follow the prompts to request to withhold aircraft ownership data.
The requirement for aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B was ostensibly a safety measure. According to the FAA’s informational page, “real-time precision, shared situational awareness, advanced applications for pilots and controllers alike—these are the hallmarks of ADS-B NextGen surveillance.”
The AOPAreports getting phone calls and emails from around the country from pilots who share the opinion that ADS-B should not be used for revenue generation in the form of landing fees or for frivolous FAA investigations and lawsuits over reckless and dangerous flying. fIf the anti-aviation types and the third-party fee vendors cannot access the name and address of the aircraft owner, these actions will likely stop or at least be severely curtailed.
“ADS-B was created for aviation safety and air traffic efficiency, and that’s all it should be used for,” said Jim Coon, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs, adding that his organization has been hearing from constituents around the country opposed to ADS-B being used as a revenue grab.
According to Coon, there are petitions being signed by pilots to get the attention of local and state officials. In Montana there is a legislative bill in the works to prohibit the use of ADS-B for landing fees for aircraft under 9,000 pounds.
“[It’s on its] way to the governor’s desk,” Coon said. “It’s a start, but ideally there should be a national policy rather than 50 individual state laws that prohibit the use of ADS-B for anything besides its intended purpose.”
