AASHTO Journal - FAA Issues $970M for Improvements at 125 Airports

The Federal Aviation Administration recently issued $970 million from to 125 U.S. airports in 46 states and the islands of Guam and Palau; the fourth installment of funding from the Airport Terminal Program or ATP; part of the total $25 billion allocated for airport and air traffic control infrastructure improvements within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA enacted in 2021.

[Above photo by the FAA]

The ATP is a new program focused on making the passenger experience better, improving accessibility for passengers with disabilities, and supporting sustainability. It is also one of three aviation funding programs supported by IIJA; the other two being the Airport Infrastructure Grants or AIG program, which provides about $15 billion in total funding over five years with $3 billion available annually, and the Airport Improvement Program or AIP, which receives some $3.3 billion in federal funding each year

The FAA noted that this latest ATP funding installment supports construction of new baggage systems, larger security checkpoints, increasing gate capacity, and the modernization of aging airport terminal and ground transportation infrastructure.

[Editor’s note: State departments of transportation in Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina are currently participating in a year-long study on how to re-equip general aviation airports in Appalachia to accommodate electric aircraft. This study will focus on what utilities and charging infrastructure 36 airports will need to serve a new generation of electric aircraft. It will also create financing and implementation models for general aviation airports across Appalachia; a 13-state rural region from north Mississippi to the southern tier of New York State.]

“Investing in America’s airport infrastructure isn’t just about upgrading runways and terminals – it’s about growing local economies, creating jobs, and ensuring the safety and efficiency of travel,” noted Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in a statement. “With [these] grants – nearly $1 billion in total – we’re helping modernize 125 airports across the country in order to make their operations safer, more accessible, and more convenient for travelers.”

This the most recent funding disbursement FAA has made through one of the above three programs in recent months.

In September, the FAA issued $1.9 billion in AIP grants to 519 project in 48 states, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The agency added that it issued an additional $269 million in fiscal year 2023 Supplemental Discretionary Grants to fund 62 projects at 56 U.S. airports; money aimed at making airports safer and more efficient for passengers as well as for the employees who work behind the scenes to make the nation’s aviation system run as smoothly as possible.

In August, the FAA issued 296 grants via its AIG program worth $566.4 million to help fund airport modernization projects in 47 states.