What Is the 9/11 Security Fee
The 9/11 security fee is a federal surcharge added to airline tickets in the United States to fund aviation security programs created after the September 11 attacks. It is collected by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and used to pay for passenger screening, federal air marshals, and airport security infrastructure. The fee applies to most one-way and round-trip flights departing from or arriving at U.S. airports, including flights operated by major carriers such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines. International carriers flying into the U.S., including Lufthansa and British Airways, also collect the fee from passengers on qualifying itineraries. The 9/11 security fee is separate from the Passenger Facility Charge and other airport-improvement fees. For an official overview of the fee program, see the TSA page on passenger security fees https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening.
As of the latest publicly available TSA guidance, the 9/11 security fee is $5.60 per one-way flight segment, with a one-way trip that includes two or more segments capped at $11.20. A round-trip itinerary with two segments therefore totals $11.20, while a round trip with four or more segments is capped at $22.40. The fee is charged per segment, not per passenger, meaning codeshare and interline tickets are assessed based on the number of flight segments operated by the carrier collecting the fare. The U.S. Department of the Treasury publishes the fee schedule in the Federal Register, and the Internal Revenue Service treats the charge as a federal excise tax on transportation. For a breakdown of how the fee compares to other aviation taxes, see the Congressional Research Service report on aviation excise taxes https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47026.
How the 9/11 Security Fee Is Collected and Used
Airlines collect the 9/11 security fee at the time of ticket purchase or check-in and remit the funds to the federal government on a quarterly basis. The fee is itemized on the ticket receipt or e-ticket confirmation, often listed as a "9/11 fee" or "TSA fee." The money goes directly into the Aviation Security Fund, which finances the TSA's screening workforce, equipment procurement, and behavior detection programs. The fund also supports the Federal Air Marshal Service and the Canine Explosives Detection Program. For details on the fund's budget and obligations, see the U.S. Department of Transportation's budget overview https://www.transportation.gov/budget.
The TSA sets the fee rate through a notice-and-comment rulemaking process, and Congress can adjust the cap or per-segment amount through legislation. In recent years, lawmakers have debated whether the current rate is sufficient to cover rising security costs, including the expansion of computed tomography (CT) scanners at airport checkpoints. The fee applies to all ticketed passengers aged two and older, with limited exemptions for certain government and diplomatic travelers. Airlines such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue disclose the fee as a separate line item during the booking flow on their websites. For a discussion of recent legislative proposals related to aviation security funding, see the Forbes analysis of airline fee policy https://www.forbes.com/sites/.
How the 9/11 Security Fee Affects Airfare and Booking Decisions
The 9/11 security fee is a fixed per-segment charge, so it