APHIS ONCE AGAIN DELAYS REMOVAL OF SMALL AIRCRAFT EXEMPTION UNTIL JUNE 2, 2025
April 14, 2025
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On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) further postponed the removal of the small aircraft exemption for 60 days, from April 1, 2025, to June 2, 2025. The small aircraft exemption from Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (“AQI”) user fees was set to expire on April 1, 2025, yet APHIS further delayed implementing the removal in accordance with President Trump’s regulatory freeze issued January 20, 2025. In addition to deferring the effective date, APHIS issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) regarding the risk posed by small commercial passenger aircraft in introducing invasive pests and animal diseases into the United States. The RFI seeks factual data to assess whether commercial passenger aircraft with 64 or fewer seats warrant reduced or waived AQI user fees, which cover inspection expenses of aircraft exteriors, cargo, and international mail.
Small aircraft operators contend that their aircraft pose minimal risk due to the absence of cargo holds and should therefore be subject to lower AQI fees. In light of these concerns, APHIS invites stakeholders to submit empirical evidence supporting an alternative fee structure before APHIS removes the small aircraft exemption on June 2, 2025. If interested, APHIS requests information about whether:
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Small commercial passenger aircraft predominately operate (and seldom depart from) a distinct geographical or environmental area;
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Aircraft departures and arrivals are often more frequent than those of larger commercial aircraft;
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There is information that indicates that these small commercial passenger aircraft take the same or substantially similar routes per flight;
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There is information that indicates that these small commercial passenger aircraft carry the same or substantially similar cargo per shipment and that the cargo carried does not present a significant sanitary or phytosanitary risk;
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There are any other considerations that could help us differentiate aircraft into categories based on sanitary and phytosanitary risk; and
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There are other ways that the fee could be structured differently, in a manner commensurate with the services being provided, and evidence to support any alternate fee structures.
For those who plan to comment on whether APHIS should modify the AQI fee structure for small commercial passenger aircraft, you can submit comments via www.regulations.gov (Docket No. APHIS-2022-0023) by April 21, 2025.
This Aviation Blog is intended to keep readers current on developments in the law. It is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202.659.6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; Patrick Bornstein at 407.625.4050 or pbornstein@eckertseamans.com, Jay Julien at 202.659.6648 or jjulien@eckertseamans.com; or Tyler Myers at 202.659.6642 or trmyers@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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