Increased prices to fly due to 'congestion fees'?

A proposed federal policy would allow airports to charge airplanes landing fees based upon traffic volume instead of plane weight. This means that airports would likely begin charging more for planes to land during times with higher traffic. The feds say this will encourage airlines to spread out their flights and land at times that are less congested. Analysts say no, it just means that consumers will have to pay more to fly.

Airlines may do more to stagger flights or use less popular airports, but ultimately this move will cost consumers in one way or another. The government can pitch this as a way to reduce air traffic, but people still need to travel and planes still need to fly. My skeptical logic says this is just another clever excuse to squeeze more money out of consumers who need to fly.

This isn't a new rule just yet. The public has 45 days to comment before the policy could be finalized.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.