FAA Awards US Airports Funds for Improvements
Grants add to an already large pot available for helping local airports shore up infrastructure and weather the pandemic
More than $273 million in airport safety and infrastructure grants from the Federal Aviation Administration have been awarded to 41 states and US territories. The sum is a considerable decrease from the $800 million Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had requested for airport safety and infrastructure improvements at the beginning of July.
A complete list of grants and airports receiving funding are available online.
The total includes just over $242 million from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and $31 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act(CARES) grants to equal a 100 percent federal share. The CARES Act already set aside $10 billion in relief money in April to help US airports get through the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The safety of our nation’s airports is of paramount importance to the FAA,” said FAA Administrator Stephen M. Dickson. “These grants will allow these necessary projects to continue.”
The grants will be used for a variety of critical infrastructure and safety projects. The projects include purchasing aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment, constructing runways and taxiways, repairing runways and taxiways, installing aircraft lighting and signage, conducting airport master plan studies, and installing airport perimeter fencing.
The International Air Transport Association, a trade group of the world’s airlines, has reported it expects $1.2 to 1.5 trillion to be spent on global airport infrastructure development by 2030.
