The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is claiming they aren’t equipped to process 9/11 security fee refunds, while at the same time trying to defend the $48 million penalty against Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, which has also failed to refund the same fee.

This has raised questions, based on whether a passenger cancels their trip and never flies, are the airline or the government required to refund the fee that they collected? As analyzed by A View From The Wing, the TSA has claimed that passengers holding Southwest itineraries that they have later cancelled, and credits have expired, the low-cost-carrier has not refunded this fee to the customer, and by law requires a cash refund.

Auditing Southwest Airlines

The TSA undertook two audits of Southwest Airlines between 2015 and 2019, which identified that the airline credits that had expired amounted to $48 million due to refunds and penalties. The 9/11 security fee is mandated for airlines to collect at the time of booking and is $5.60 one way, or $11.20 per round trip. The fee is collected by the airline ‘in trust’, on behalf of the government, and intended to help fund the nation’s aviation security system.

As a result of this, should the traveler not undertake their journey, and cancel or suspend their trip, the security fee is then not due, and then, in return, be refunded to the customer. Southwest Airlines has challenged this claim, noting that the customer forfeited these funds when they let their travel credits expire.

Southwest has argued that the TSA is the agency that should be completing these refunds, given that it’s a federal fee collected for the TSA. The current statute outlines that the TSA may refund certain amounts if they are paid by mistake.

No Ability To Refund

TSA has claimed that they do not currently have such an ability to process refunds that would go directly back to customers, and at the same time, is pushing Southwest Airlines to do the same thing. Defending the TSA’s position was their lawyer, who suggested that the TSA was not built to refund millions of passengers.

What makes this situation even more unique is that the agency, which is unable to provide the refunds, is also attempting to penalize airlines for doing the same thing. While the airlines have collected the fee from the customer at the time of booking, they hold the funds that are due to the agency.

In essence, the agency is unable to refund the fee, but wants to also fine airlines for not refunding it either. This is not just Southwest Airlines, but affects all carriers that are required to collect the fee for United States travel bookings.

9/11 Security Fee

Known as the ‘Passenger Fee’ or ‘9/11 Security Fee’, it is collected by airlines from passengers at the time of booking, which is remitted to the TSA. This is for air transportation that originates in the United States, and is imposed at $5.60 per one-way trip, or $11.20 per round trip. Air carriers are mandated to record this fee collected and submit the information to the TSA. The tables below outline how much this fee collected in the last three calendar years, as per the TSA website:

The fee is designed in a way that requires air travelers to pay for the security that should protect them during their journey, supporting TSA operations, security technology, law enforcement, capital improvements, and airline security programs.

This fee is intended to support the United States civil aviation security operation costs, and the development and upgrades of training, technology, and law enforcement. Currently, the fee does not fully cover all operating costs, and as suggested by the U.S Travel Association often has seen revenue diverted to Congress to support wider national security programs.