FAA Clears $1.1 Billion for Airport Upgrades Across 46 States

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, target critical airport infrastructure, including family-friendly features and vehicle movement area transmitters, according to the release. The money will pay for runway reconstruction, terminal projects and safety tool investments.

The announcement follows a separate $481 million investment earlier this month through the Airport Infrastructure Grants program.

Tracking technology takes a slice

One grant stands out for its safety focus. DOT will provide $10.9 million to equip 3,000 airport vehicles with tracking devices at 61 airports, allowing air traffic controllers to track vehicles moving 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."

The stakes are real. 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.

Runways and terminals get the largest shares

Other grants in the 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 operate as two separate funding streams 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 markings, according to DOT. Airports receive a set amount of AIP funding each year based on passenger volume.

The AIG program, by contrast, draws from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

With nearly $1.6 billion in combined airport funding announced this month alone, contractors specializing in aviation infrastructure face a deepening pipeline of runway, terminal and safety-technology work stretching into the coming grant cycles.