How Projects Are Paid For

Project Funding

Sky Harbor ranks in the bottom 20 percent of the nation’s largest airports in terms of costs for passengers and airlines. And the city of Phoenix is committed to keeping costs low.

What will the Airport Development plan cost the Phoenix taxpayer?

The comprehensive Airport Development plan was approved in February 2007 by the Phoenix City Council. Total improvement costs are estimated at about $3 billion over 10 years but Phoenix residents will not pay local taxes for improvements. The cost will be shared by revenues generated through enterprises such as rental car companies, restaurants, retailers and taxis. For some projects (other than the PHX Sky Train) costs may also be shared by airlines.

What’s this plan going to cost the airlines?

Airline costs will increase an average of 5 percent per year over 10 years resulting in the cost per enplaned passenger increasing from almost $5 now to between $7 and $8 by 2016. This conservative approach allows Sky Harbor to continue to be a moderately priced airport relative to other U.S. airports and minimizes the financial impact on our airline partners.