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Landing Fees - Spanish Fork Municipal Airport (KSPK)
Effective August 1, 2025, landing fees are managed by Vector Airport Systems via their PLANEPASS® service on behalf of the airport. Transient and non-based aircraft will be billed. This program helps maintain airport infrastructure and support ongoing improvements.
Vector's PLANEPASS service provides an Operator Self-Service Portal that allows operators to do the following:
- Update contact information
- View current invoices, download invoices to Excel
- View account history
- Enroll in electronic invoicing
- Process credit card payments
To log into the portal, please use the operator ID and invoice number shown on the Vector invoice. If you have not previously received an invoice from Vector, please contact our PLANEPASS® team to set up an account. Credit Cards Accepted: AVCARD, American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted. There is a service provider processing fee of 3% of the total amount paid.
Checks can be mailed to the remittance address shown in the upper left corner of any Vector invoice and must include the Invoice Number or Operator ID. Since Vector handles the billing for multiple airports, please make sure your payment is mailed to the airport payment address shown on the invoice.
ACH/Wire Payments – Please email billing@vector-us.com to get banking details. Remittance information should also be sent to this email address.
Contact PLANEPASS®
1-888-588-0028 (Option 1)
billing@vector-us.com
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm EST
Who Is Charged?
Landing fees apply to:
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All transient aircraft
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All based aircraft including touch and go operations
Based aircraft that are registered and verified as based at KSPK and are under 5,000 lbs receive one complimentary landing per day.
Based aircraft owners, please fill out the Based Aircraft Reporting Form to ensure your aircraft is claimed as being based at KSPK.
Transient pilots flying aircraft under 5,000 lbs, please fill out the Transient Aircraft Landing Fee Form to claim your complimentary landing.Landing Fee Rates
Landing fees are calculated based on the aircraft's maximum certificated takeoff weight (MTOW).
| Landing Fees & Business Fees | |
|---|---|
| Landing Fee 0-5,000 lbs MTOW | $2.00 |
| Landing Fee 5,001-12,499 lbs MTOW | $5.00 |
| Landing Fee 12,500-60,000 lbs MTOW |
$2.50 per 1,000 lbs
|
| Overweight Aircraft Fee (over 60,000 lbs MTOW) | $2.50 per 1,000 lbs + $5 per pound over 60,000 lbs |
About Airport Funding & Landing Fees
Spanish Fork Airport is a self-funded public-use airport that receives no city funds for day-to-day operations. To remain financially sustainable and comply with FAA requirements, the airport has implemented a fair and transparent landing fee system based on use. The FAQs below explain how the system works and why it's necessary. Spanish Fork Airport is working hard to stay safe, accessible, and financially independent—without burdening local taxpayers. Landing fees are not about making money; they're about maintaining fairness, sustainability, and compliance with FAA rules as airport use increases.
FAQs
Why does Spanish Fork Airport charge landing fees?
Landing fees are essential to keeping the airport safe, operational, and self-funded. Since the airport receives no City, State, or Federal funding for daily operations, users must help cover the costs.
The airport uses a two-part rate structure:
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Base Rate: This includes ongoing fees like hangar ground leases and tie-down fees paid by based tenants. These users help fund long-term maintenance and operations through regular contributions.
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Utility Rate: This variable fee is tied to aircraft landings and is primarily applied to transient users. It increases or decreases based on airport activity—more landings mean higher use of runways, lighting, snow removal, and staffing. The utility rate helps cover those growing costs fairly, without shifting the burden to taxpayers or based tenants.
This approach ensures that those who use the airport most help fund its upkeep, while allowing the airport to remain independent of city subsidies.
How does Spanish Fork Airport track aircraft landings for billing?
Spanish Fork Airport primarily uses video-based tracking, not ADS-B, as our main method of recording landings. High-resolution cameras are installed around the runway and tied into a software system that identifies aircraft tail numbers and time stamps each landing. This visual data provides an accurate, fair, and verifiable method for billing. While ADS-B may be used occasionally as a secondary tool for cross-reference, it is not the primary source for billing purposes.
Isn't the City just making money as the airport grows? Where do these landing fees really go?
No—by FAA Grant Assurance #25 (Airport Revenues), all revenue generated by the airport, including landing fees, must be used exclusively for airport operations, maintenance, or capital improvements.
As the airport grows, so do infrastructure demands—more aircraft means more runway wear, lighting needs, snow removal, and general upkeep. Landing fees help cover these costs and reduce reliance on taxpayer subsidies.
Historically, the City contributed over $100,000 annually to support airport operations. With growth and fiscal responsibility in mind, fees have been implemented to help the airport become self-sustaining. Growth means more responsibility, not profit—and all revenue stays on-airport, as required by federal law.
Why did the airport implement landing fees instead of raising other rates?
The decision to implement landing fees was made to help the airport become financially self-sufficient and eliminate reliance on Spanish Fork taxpayer dollars, which previously subsidized the airport by over $100,000 per year.
While increasing lease or hangar rates was considered, landing fees more equitably distribute the financial responsibility—frequent and transient users contribute more, which aligns with their greater impact on airport operations.
These fees directly fund operational needs such as runway lighting, snow removal, safety inspections, and equipment maintenance. This “user-pays” model follows guidance from the FAA’s Grant Assurance #25 (Airport Revenues), which requires that airport revenue be used solely for airport-related purposes and that rates and charges be applied fairly and reasonably.
In short, landing fees ensure that those who use the airport most help sustain it, while protecting local taxpayers and complying with federal funding requirements.
Why are more airports starting to charge landing fees?
Many airports across the country are implementing landing fees because federal funding isn't stretching as far as it used to, while the cost to maintain airport infrastructure continues to grow.
Even with FAA support, airports are responsible for a large share of operations and maintenance costs—runway repairs, lighting, snow removal, equipment, and inspections. As infrastructure ages or expands with increased traffic, these costs rise.
Landing fees help close the funding gap by ensuring that those who use the airport contribute to its upkeep. This model follows the FAA's guidance to apply airport fees fairly and to use all airport-generated revenue—per Grant Assurance #25—exclusively for airport-related purposes.
In short, more airports are turning to landing fees to stay operational, safe, and self-sufficient amid rising costs and limited federal resources.
Isn't charging landing fees to based aircraft discriminatory?
No. Charging landing fees—even to based aircraft—is not discriminatory when fees are applied fairly, consistently, and in compliance with FAA guidance.
Under FAA Grant Assurance #22 – Economic Nondiscrimination, airports are allowed to set fees for the use of facilities as long as they are reasonable, applied uniformly, and not used to unfairly restrict access.
Spanish Fork Airport’s landing fee structure:
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Applies to all aircraft based on objective criteria (e.g., weight and frequency of use).
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Provides an exemption: Based aircraft under 5,000 lbs receive one complimentary landing per day.
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Reflects impact: Frequent and heavier users contribute more because they place more wear on runways and infrastructure.
This model ensures that those who use the airport most help cover its costs—a practice that is not only fair, but also required under FAA Grant Assurance #24 (Fee and Rental Structure), which mandates that airports be as self-sustaining as possible. When the Airport Board and management considered implementing landing fees, a comprehensive proposal outlining the rate structure and methodology was submitted to the FAA Airport District Office (ADO) for review. After requesting a few minor adjustments, the ADO approved the final landing fee structure and methodology.
In short, the fees are equitable, not discriminatory—and they ensure the airport remains financially viable without placing the burden on city taxpayers.