http://www.cnbc.com/id/34963091

For example, the Homeland Security Department proposed last year to boost a security fee of $2.50 per passenger by $1 a year for three years, starting in October 2011. Congress has not approved the increase. The fee was enacted after the September 2001 terror attacks using U.S. jetliners.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation Committee, asked the Government Accountability Office to study whether the government is getting cheated out of tax money by fees airlines are charging their passengers. Airlines now charge separately for services, such as checking a bag or buying a meal, that were once included — and taxed — as part of the ticket price.

ARPEY: “If you look over the past decade or so, fees and taxes on airlines and airline passengers have increased at an astronomical rate in my opinion. We’re now to the point where on an average ticket, well over 20 percent of what we receive goes to various governmental entities.”