49 U.S.C. § 45301 — General provisions

(a) Fee schedule. The FAA Administrator must set up a schedule of new fees, and a way to collect them, for: (1) air traffic control and related services given to aircraft that are not U.S. or foreign military or government aircraft and that neither take off from nor land in the United States; and (2) other (non-air-traffic-control) services given to a foreign government or to anyone receiving services outside the U.S. — except the Administrator cannot charge fees for production-certification services performed outside the U.S. on aircraft products made outside the U.S. (b) Setting and adjusting fees. (1) These fees must reasonably match what it actually costs the FAA, as the Administrator determines, to provide the service. (2) Costs that can be recovered include air traffic control, navigation, weather services, training, and emergency services, plus costs of other FAA-funded services, for flights that don't take off or land in the U.S. (3) None of the following can be challenged in court: setting or adjusting a fee (A); the FAA's cost determinations and how it made them (B); or how the FAA allocated costs to particular services (C). (4) The FAA does not have to factor in aircraft altitude when setting en-route or oceanic fees. (5) "Costs" here includes operating, maintenance, and leasing costs, plus overhead for the facilities and equipment used. (c) Outside experts. In building this fee system, the FAA may hire outside experts and consultants, including on a sole-source basis without competitive bidding, despite other laws that would normally require competition. (d) Definition. "Production-certification related service" has the meaning given in a specific federal aviation regulation appendix. (e) Later adjustments. Beyond the adjustments in subsection (b), the Administrator may periodically adjust these fees again.