The FAA and Department of Transportation released the list of airport improvement programs (AIP) that they will fund out of the discretionary portion of the AIP budget for the 2017 fiscal year earlier this week. For small airports, AIP grants can cover 90-95% of the cost of airport improvements such as runway or taxiway construction, airport lighting or the installation of radio navigation equipment. AIP grants come with long-term conditions, including that the airport remain open for public use for the useful life of any AIP-funded program, which has played a role in keeping airports in noise-sensitive areas from being shut down by municipal authorities.
The largest recipient in 2017, Chicago O’Hare, will receive $60 million for new runway construction. The second largest grant will go to Memphis International, which will receive $22.5 million for a deicing pad and facilities. Although more than half of the $528 million in grants will go to the 20 largest projects, grants were made to projects in 45 states and Puerto Rico at 584 airports. The minimum amount allowable under an AIP grant, $25,000, will be made available to Portsmouth International for reconstruction of their Runway 16/34.
Full grant data available here from the FAA.
