The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) urged the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to maintain the small aircraft exemption for agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) user fees.

In May 2024, the APHIS issued a final rule that would increase the inspection user fees on commercial aircraft by 50% through fiscal year 2027 to about $340.90 and the per-passenger fee to $4.12 each. It also changed reporting requirements from quarterly to monthly and removed the “small aircraft” exemption, covering those with 64 or fewer seats. When the exemption was put in place 30 years ago, the APHIS explained, AQI inspections were not typically directed at small aircraft. However, the service maintained that U.S. Customs and Border Protection does do such inspections now.

However, the original rule delayed the removal of the exemption to April 1, 2025. Since release of the rule, the APHIS has further delayed implementation of the fees on small aircraft to June 2 and asked for comments on the fees, inspection needs, and potential risks involving smaller aircraft operations.

In its comments, NATA urged APHIS to keep the existing exemption for small aircraft in place to ensure a more equitable cost allocation and support the economic viability of small aviation businesses.

NATA noted that Part 135 operators fly aircraft with a maximum of 30 passenger seats and payload of 7,500 pounds, and most of the 2,000 carriers are classified as small businesses, unlike scheduled passenger airlines or large cargo carriers.

“Given the limited payload capacities and overall small aircraft size, any burden for inspection service is inherently minimal and often de minimis,” the association maintained. “The aircraft in the Part 135 class pose a lower agricultural risk compared to large freighters or scheduled airliners, which often carry thousands of bags and palletized cargo.”

This is especially true for medical transportation services, which must meet strict medical protocols, NATA added.

Further, APHIS is required to ensure that fees charged are commensurate with the costs of the services provided, NATA added. “Most of the carriers and aircraft in this class are rarely, if ever, inspected by actual APHIS agents. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, not APHIS inspectors, typically process these arrivals, only involving APHIS if specific circumstances arise.”

NATA also contended that charging Part 135 operators the same fee as large cargo carriers or scheduled airlines “misallocates” the inspection costs, having small operators subsidize large corporations. “The de minimis agricultural services provided by CBP for part 135 aircraft do not justify the same fee as is charged to the airlines,” NATA said.

NATA also expressed concern that the regulatory calculations improperly relied on data pertinent to scheduled airlines.

As an alternative to eliminating the exemption, NATA recommended lowering the threshold to 30 seats and allowing it to apply only in cases where the aircraft is not carrying certain cargo or serving certain foods.

This would limit the exemption to those with the least risk, the association explained, stressing that medical flights should retain the exemption.