The levy that is tacked on to the cost of every departure is about to go up.

The cost of flying out of Halifax's Robert L. Stanfield International Airport will soon go up.

The airport improvement fee that is tacked on to the cost of every ticket will increase from $15 to $20.

The change will be reflected on tickets sold on or after Oct. 1 for passengers whose flight departs on or after Jan. 1.

The increase is expected to bring in an additional $6.5 million per year.

Airport officials said the money will be used for upgrades, including extending the runway and increasing the number of check-in kiosks.

"We're looking at new snow and ice control equipment, so our runways will be more available in bad weather. We're looking at expanding the terminal building to add more gates, because we are working on getting more flights to and from Europe, from the United States and within Canada," spokesperson Peter Spurway said.

Spurway said plans are also in the works to build more commercial buildings along the road that connects the airport to the highway.

The improvement fee was $10 when it was first introduced in 2001. It was increased to $15 in 2009.

Spurway said the latest increase brings the fee for flying from Halifax more in line with other major Canadian airports.