US Airways has joined in an industrywide effort to fight proposed airline taxes, and passengers could be seeing a reminder of the company's position on flights soon: specially designed airsickness bags.

The airlines are battling a proposal that would increase security surcharges from $2.50 to $5 per one-way trip, and increase them by 50 cents a year until 2017. It's a part of an Obama administration plan submitted to the congressional supercommittee charged with cutting the nation's budget deficit.

The administration has said the current fees don't cover the cost of providing security, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposal also would add a $100 tax on each airplane departure. The billions in revenue generated would go to deficit reduction, the Federal Aviation Administration's trust fund for airports and runways, and security costs.

The airline industry says the higher taxes and fees would choke an already-struggling industry.

Large airlines have banded together under the industry's Air Transport Association to voice their opposition. US Airways is giving out airsickness bags printed with the message "Sick of Taxes?" The bags also have a scannable code that takes customers with smartphones to a website, www.stopairtaxnow.com, to learn more.

The carrier is distributing the bags at Washington Reagan National Airport, which is a focus city for US Airways. Passengers on some flights to the airport also will receive the bags.

"The only response for the industry is to cut costs," said US Airways President Scott Kirby. "There will be fewer flights."

Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways operates about 90 percent of daily flights at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, which is its largest hub.

The airway industry recently has returned to profitability, following a spate of losses, mergers and bankruptcies that came on the heels of the 9/11 terror attacks and 2008's recession and spike in oil prices. But the industry is being squeezed again by higher fuel prices, and many carriers have cut capacity and raised fees for services like checked bags that were once free.