Dive Brief:
- The Federal Aviation Administration will distribute $1.1 billion through 280 grants to airports in 46 states and three territories, according to a Sept. 14 release from the Department of Transportation.
- The awards, funded through the Airport Improvement Program, aim to upgrade critical airport infrastructure, including the addition of family-friendly features and vehicle movement area transmitters, according to the release.
- The latest announcement follows a recent $481 million investment earlier this month through the separate Airport Infrastructure Grants program.
Dive Insight:
The investment targets airport upgrades such as runway reconstruction and terminal projects, as well as safety tool investments, according to the release.
For instance, DOT will provide $10.9 million to equip 3,000 airport vehicles with tracking devices at 61 airports. These upgrades will allow air traffic controllers to track vehicles on runways and taxiways, according to the release.
“These grants will allow airports to deploy VMATs, that provide our air traffic controllers with greater situational awareness of aircraft and vehicles moving on the airport surface,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “This is about giving our controllers the tools and technologies they need to safely manage an increasingly complex National Airspace System.”
In March, a Canada Air Express plane collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing two pilots, according to NBC News.
Other grants in the investment package include $30.7 million to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for runway work and $18.9 million to Shreveport Regional Airport in Louisiana for terminal expansion, according to the release.
The AIP and AIG programs are two separate funding streams used for the planning and development of public-use airports.
The AIP, funded by the FAA’s Airport and Airway Trust Fund, focuses on projects such as runways, taxiways, airport signage, airport lighting and airport makings, according to DOT. Airports are entitled to a certain amount of AIP funding each year, based on passenger volume.
The AIG program, on the other hand, is part of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
