US government reveals $636m in airport infrastructure grants

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced more than $636m in grants to support airport infrastructure projects in the latest funding round of its Airport Improvement Programme (AIP). 

The funding will be spread across 320 grants in 46 states and American Samoa and focus on the improvement or expansion of existing infrastructure to ensure the modernisation of the country’s aviation industry. 

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “The Biden-Harris Administration continues to make our aviation system safer, more accessible, and more resilient through initiatives like the AIP. 

“Thanks to this latest round of funding, passengers across the country will benefit as we make airports from Rhode Island to American Samoa more modern and efficient.” 

Some of the largest grants included $24m for Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York for a runway rehabilitation project, $15.7m for the construction of a taxiway at Detroit Willow Run Airport in Michigan, and $14.8m for Pioneer Field in Alaska to expand its snow removal equipment building. 

The AIP’s funding round is just the latest in a series of grant programmes funded by the US government as it looks to improve the country’s airports in the face of ageing infrastructure and concerns about the state of the US air traffic control network. 

In July, the FAA revealed $289m in grants under its Airport Infrastructure Grants and $123m under a previous round of the AIP, while another $130m was handed out to almost 100 airports in March through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.