Bush Budget Ups Plane Tix Costs

Airlines and travelers' advocates alike are blasting President Bush's plan to pay for nearly half of the increase in funding for the Department of Homeland Security by jacking up fees on airline tickets.

Airline expert Terry Trippler says, "This is silly."

Trippler says that since the 9/11 attacks, approximately $20 in new fees have been added to the cost of each airline ticket. He says funding the Department of Homeland Security is a federal responsibility -- not the job of a family headed down to Disney World.

The new fees are projected to raise $4.8 billion.

A standard airline ticket would increase in cost by $3. The fee for each leg of a round-trip ticket would rise in 2006 from $2.50 to $5.50. Passengers making several stops on a one-way ticket would see their fees increase from $5 to $8.