Despite the objections from a number of pilots and industry members who came to its meeting to speak, the Kissimmee City Commission last week approved an amendment set of landing rates and charges for transient pilots at Kissimmee Gateway Airport.
The city originally approved going forward with charging fees at its Sept. 17, 2024 meeting, with the intent to begin charging the fees on Nov. 1, and re-visit the process in a year. But, at least one of the new commissioners elected this year wanted to give the fee structure further review before being put in place.
The fees charged to transient aircraft–defined as those not based at the Kissimmee airport–would be $3 per 1,000 pounds for fixedwing aircraft, and $20 per operation for transient helicopters. Planes under 5,000 pounds would get one free landing per day. The proposed date to initiate the transient aircraft landing fees is February 1, 2025. This fee structure could generate annual revenue of approximately $470,000, according to vendor estimates.
“While it is understood that each airport arrives at a fee structure meeting its unique financial needs, these fees keep with rates proposed by other East Central Florida airports and align with industry norms,” the ordinance passed reads.
The city also approved a contract with Vector Airport Systems to invoice and collect the landing fees at a cost of 15% of those landing fees collected. It’s a three-year contract, but City Manager Mike Steigerwald said the city can terminate the deal after a year with 60 days notice.
Commissioners voted 4-0 to pass the measures; Commissioner Janette Martinez was absent from the meeting.
Like in September, a number of pilots and those representing the aviation sector spoke harshly against the fee plan. Among their complaints from the audience: That Aviation Director Shawn Germolus came to Kissimmee from another state (Minnesota) and that if he takes another job pilots who fly into the airport would be stuck with the fees; the fees will curtail safe operations like touch-and-go practice which will lead to a higher likelihood of accidents; pilots will avoid the Kissimmee airport and any others that charge fees, which would be bad policy for local businesses; other airports were approached by Vector and were denied; and flight students would pay more for their lessons.
After city commissioner Angela Eady openly asked the aviation members at the meeting if they’d stop flying if all area airports began charging the fees–one pilot mentioned, “There’s 4,000 airports in Florida”–she made the point that charging landing fees to help maintain the airport was strictly “a business decision.”
“We’ve got to do this to maintain the airport,” she said.
Commissioner Carlos Alvarez again asked for a review of the fees after one year of the agreement.
The airport was a point of discussion in another portion of the meeting–a group called Kissimmee Place Development presented how it would develop new Kissimmee hotels, one on Martin Luther King Boulevard adjacent to the airport with 122 rooms, and another in downtown on land that wraps around the Toho Square parking garage. Both would include meeting space, and if able to move forward construction could begin in September 2025 and be complete in November 2026. Commissioners agreed to continue the talks.
On a lighter note, Kissimmee Police canine Baxter received a retirement sendoff, and the city agreed to let his handler, Det. Georgie Torres take over care and responsibility of the sevenyear- old.
Baxter, named for Officer Matt Baxter, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in August 2017, was trained to sniff out electronic devices and worked with KPD since 2020. On over 200 cases, Baxter had discovered 408 devices. He’s leaving the department after experiencing documented degenerative issues affecting his spine.
