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Clay Lacy has announced that it will not be charging a special event fee at any of its FBO locations in the U.S. during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The company states that since the World Cup will take place in 16 host cities in three countries over the span of a month, it does not expect any significant strain in air traffic outside of the final match on July 19. As such, it sees no reason to apply additional fees. Clay Lacy does encourage making early reservations for travelers flying to cities hosting the games, as it does expect steady traffic through the month.
"In our industry, special event fees were originally implemented to help offset the legitimate and significant costs associated with handling high-volume traffic within a compressed timeframe such as the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby or Formula 1 race weekends," said Doug Wilson, Clay Lacy CBO. "These events can require flying in additional personnel, securing accommodations, bringing in extra ground support equipment, and mobilizing more fuel trucks to meet demand, all of which drive real operational expense."
Travelling for the games is expected to be more complex for the games in 2026 because of the decision to split them between Mexico, Canada and the U.S., according to World Aviation Festival. Share America predicted in January that the Cup could attract as many as 10 million tourists to the U.S. alone. While this number may potentially be dampened by the recent fuel shortage, airports near the games can still expect a higher number of travelers than usual.
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"For this global celebration of sport, we want to ensure clients from around the world can enjoy simple, fair, and exceptional service, without any unnecessary surcharges," said Wilson. "We look forward to welcoming fans, teams and partners as they arrive in North America for the first time in a generation, to experience the thrill of World Cup soccer."