AASHTO Journal - FAA Issues $970M to Support Airport Projects

The Federal Aviation Administration recently awarded $970 million in grants to 114 airports across the country, spanning 44 states and three U.S. territories.

[Above photo by the FAA]

The agency noted that grant funding comes from its Airport Terminal Program, one of three aviation programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. FAA added that this round of grant funding will support projects aimed at improving the airline passenger experience, while expanding accessibility and boosting sustainability.

[Editor’s note: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials published a report in April 2023 analyzing the impact of general aviation on state and local economies across the country. That report, officially entitled “The Impact of General Aviation on State and Local Economies—State Reports 2022,” is a joint effort between AASHTO, the Alliance for Aviation Across America, and the National Association of State Aviation Officials.]

Specific facets of the airport projects receiving FAA grants include: installing new baggage systems, larger security checkpoints, increasing gate capacity, and modernizing aging terminal and ground transportation infrastructure. The agency added that nine of the grants from this round of airport funding will address the needs of aging air traffic control towers.

“[This] funding not only helps modernize airports to meet the needs of travelers today and for years to come but also creates good-paying job opportunities in communities both large and small,” said Shannetta Griffin, the FAA’s associate administrator for airports, in a statement.

The agency noted that grant funding is in addition to the nearly $2 billion issued to support airport terminal projects issued over the past two years.

That includes $66.2 million in Airport Infrastructure Grant or AIG program funding to airports in 23 states and Puerto Rico awarded in late 2023, along with $201 million issued to 82 airports nationwide in October 2023 to improve runway lighting systems. The agency is also accepting applications for nearly $300 million in grants to reduce carbon emissions from the aviation sector.