AASHTO Journal - FAA Grants Support Airport, Control Tower Projects

The Federal Aviation Administration recently awarded $110 million via its Airport Infrastructure Grant or AIG program to 70 airports in 32 states. Concurrently, the agency issued $20 million to support air traffic control tower projects in 17 states.

[Above photo by FAA]

The agency said in a statement that the $110 million in AIG funding will support projects seeking to modernize airport and runway infrastructure, improve airfield safety, and create aviation sector jobs.

FAA noted that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA provides $15 billion over five years for the AIG program. To date, nearly $9 billion in AIG funding has been made available to airports across the country, the agency said – stressing that airports have until the end of fiscal year 2025 to use those AIG allocations.

Meanwhile, the FAA said the $20 million issued to 20 airport-owned airport traffic control tower projects comes from the AIG’s Federal Contract Tower Competitive Grant program.

Grants via that program go to small airports as well as a regional ones to improve safety and support critical aviation operations such as commercial passenger flights, cargo flights, emergency services, agricultural aviation, and flight training.

“These investments expand the resources available to airports and help ensure airport traffic control towers across the country and the men and women who work in them are able to effectively do their jobs and communicate with pilots,” said Shannetta Griffin, FAA’s associate administrator for airports, in a separate statement.

“Not only does this help improve safety at our airports, but it creates good-paying jobs and helps boost local economies,” she added.