Airline lobby passing out 'barf bags' at DC airport to protest flight tax

Hoping to convince passengers to be "sick" about President Obama's proposal to increase taxes on flights, the airline lobbying group is distributing "barf bags" that are normally provided on flights at a Washington airport.

As part of its Stop Air Tax Now campaign, the Washington, D.C.-based Air Transport Association said it would pass out motion sickness bags with information about the president's proposal to increase the take-off fee for flights at Washington's Reagan Washington National Airport.

Obama has suggested that the supercommittee of lawmakers tasked with cutting a minimum of $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit consider an increase in the per-takeoff fee on flights that could run as high as $100.

The ATA said that "further increasing airline taxes and fees would eliminate 181,000 American jobs, reduce air service and mean higher costs.

"To demonstrate that taxes are making people sick, the ATA will be distributing air-sickness bags at Reagan Washington National Airport to airline customers and employees, reinforcing that new taxes will increase costs and reduce service," the organization said of the effort Monday.

Obama has also proposed a $7.50 increase in the security taxes passengers pay each way on trips.

Several airline executives, including the CEOs of United and Southwest airlines, have sharply criticized the flight tax proposals.

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