The FAA plans to award $8 billion in grants to U.S. commercial, reliever and general aviation airports to aid in their recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grants will be used to help keep airport workers employed, construction projects moving forward and otherwise help in their recovery, the FAA says.
Funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law on March 11 by President Joe Biden. The funding provides relief to eligible airports and will reimburse operational expenses, debt service payments and costs related to combating the spread of pathogens at the airport. Airports may also use the funding for rent relief to retail and concessions operating in the terminals.
The grants require that airports continue to employ at least 90% of their pre-pandemic workers for those airports that cover a majority of the traveling public.
“The Airport Rescue Grants keep workers employed and help the aviation sector recover as more Americans get vaccinated and begin traveling again,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “These grants are part of the administration’s commitment to build back a better and safer transportation system throughout our country.”
Under the grant program, primary commercial service airports will receive about $6.5 billion based on the number of annual boardings, with another $800 million available for relief to in-terminal concessions from rent and minimum annual guarantees, including $640 million in relief to small concessions and $160 million to large airport concessions.
Non-primary commercial service and general aviation airports will share $100 million based on their airport categories, such as national, regional, local and basic.
The remaining funds will be used to cover an airport’s cost-share portion on grants through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program and the supplemental discretionary grants. “That means airports will likely not have to pay their portion of a given project,” the FAA says.
Hundreds of airports will receive the grant money, the FAA says.
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