The Dane County Regional Airport (DCRA) Commission voted unanimously to create a new $4.50-per-day charge for all rental cars at the monthly airport commission meeting Feb. 18.
The charge comes as DCRA leaders prepare to fund a new parking structure and other infrastructural upgrades to the airport.
Airport director Mike Papko said costs for the project, estimated to cost roughly $120 million, will now come from visitors to Dane County – not just local taxpayers.
“This is a way for us to spread that out to the traveling public that comes in and visits our area,” Papko said.
The fee will provide the airport with a relatively predictable funding stream for new projects at the airport as leaders prepare a new master plan, the first since 1993.
“Are we growing to the size of O’Hare?” Papko said. “No, but we need to invest in our infrastructure. We need to replace our main runway. We need to replace and relocate our air traffic control tower. We’re doing all these things.”
Some council members raised concerns about the charges being pushed on visitors to Dane County. District 4 Supervisor Matt Veldran drew a comparison to “taxation without representation.”
“This is just telling people that don't live here, ‘you're giving us more money,’” Veldran said. “The rental car [companies] don't care. It's a pass through. Sure — they've got a hundred bucks. We [the rental car company] don't care.”
But Papko said travelers already “expect” to encounter the fee at other airports, referencing similar programs at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
Without the newly formed revenue stream, he said there could be “serious implications” in “meeting the demands of passengers.”
“This is just a way of doing it that is spreading it out and not having it put on our neighbors,” Papko said. “And it's having the visiting public that are renting cars again [and] that expect to pay for the service to pay their fair share.”
Building for the future: the Airport Master Plan
Beyond the charge, Papko told The Daily Cardinal airport leadership is searching for additional funding sources to prepare for the Airport Master Plan — an upcoming initiative he said will outline the next 20 years of improvements made to the airport. It will be the airport’s first master plan since 1998. Airport master plans are typically updated every five to seven years.
Papko said the plan will address the “wear and tear” of airport infrastructure at “the end of its useful life," drawing a comparison to the cycle of road construction.
“Think of an ‘East Washington Avenue’ — occasionally, we’re going to have to rip it up and repave it,” Papko said. “Its not an easy task because you can’t just close the runway overnight.”
Though the final plan is still under review, Papko said he expects the capital improvement plan — a byproduct of the master plan — to create “hundreds of millions of dollars” of investment back into the region DCRA serves and the airport itself.
DCRA Economic Impact Study
Papko also presented the results of the DCRA Economic Impact Study conducted by Oxford research group Tourism Economics on behalf of the Airport Commission.
The study analyzed the airport’s economic impact on the region.
According to the report, the total economic impact — business sales that correspond to activity supported by the airport in the region — was nearly $2.6 billion.
The airport also supported 10,176 jobs in 2024 and generated $1.7 billion of direct business sales which supported $425.3 million in wages and 5,512 jobs.
Papko told the Cardinal the report is a sign the airport is more than just a place for travel.
“It truly showcases that people are utilizing our infrastructure and leveraging it for economic benefit,” Papko said. “That we aren’t just an airport that connects people, [but that] we truly are an economic driver in the community.”
The report coincides with a new all-time passenger record at the DCRA. In 2025, the airport served 2.5 million passengers — 6% more than in 2024 and nearly 100,000 more than the previous all-time record set in 2019.
The release called the new record “historic,” reflecting “sustained growth for air travel.”
“I think it's exciting to see that the local area and that the catchment area of the passengers that we have of passengers is growing as a whole,” Papko said. “I’m excited to see that.”
The airport added more direct flights to cities in recent months, including Boston, Los Angeles and New York, and also recently announced a new non-stop service from Madison to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Due to a power struggle between United and American Airlines over airline dominance at O'Hare International Airport, Papko said DCRA leadership is looking to add an extended service to Chicago on both airlines.
“I think it's exciting to see that the local area and that the catchment area of the passengers that we have of passengers is growing as a whole, and I’m excited to see that,” Papko said. “Not to compare ourselves to Milwaukee, but we were up 7% [total passengers] while Milwaukee was down 6% [total passengers] year-over-year. And that’s a testament to where we’re going and the trajectory that we have, so I’m excited about it.”
Ted Hyngstrom is the Podcast Editor for The Daily Cardinal. Alongside directing all audio storytelling, Ted hosts the Cardinal Call, a weekly campus news feature segment airing on local radio station WORT 89.9 FM. He also covers current events for the campus news desk.
