Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Sky Harbor Airport Rideshare Fee

Sky Harbor will remain as one of the priciest rideshare airport in the country.

The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld the controversial Phoenix city ordinance that adds on an additional fee to rideshare services to and from Sky Harbor Airport.

Before the measure passed by the council, the airport charged customers $2.66 for pick-up from a rideshare car at the airport and no fee for drop-off. The $4 increase would raise the amount riders pay to get picked up from the airport, with an additional entirely new drop-off fee.

After the original announcement of the fee increase approved by the Phoenix City Council in October 2019, Uber had threatened to pull out of Sky Harbor

In December 2019, Uber sent a letter to Valley drivers announcing they would no longer have the option to be able to pick-up or drop-off passengers at Sky Harbor.

“We are writing to let you know that Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) recently imposed a new airport rideshare fee of $4 per trip,” Uber wrote in a the email. “This fee unfairly penalizes those who rely on ridesharing at PHX by asking them to bear a disproportionate share of costs associated with the Sky Train. On behalf of the drivers and riders who rely on Uber, we cannot accept a partnership that unfairly burdens our shared passengers. As a result, we have made the decision to cease operations at the airport.”

The city said the increase was long overdue after Sky Harbor made the decision to cut the fee in recent years.