FAA Providing $15M for NH Airports

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $15,224,474 in airport aid to 14 airports in NH to assuage the COVID-19 public health emergency. This historic grant funding is part of the federal government's newly created Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Airport Grant Program.

“This $10 billion in emergency resources will help fund the continued operations of our nation’s airports during this crisis and save workers’ jobs,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

The funding will support continuing operations and replace lost revenue resulting from the sharp decline in passenger traffic and other airport business due to COVID-19. The funds are available for airport capital expenditures, airport operating expenses including payroll and utilities, and airport debt payments.

“Thank you to the dedicated men and women from the FAA’s Office of Airports for creating an entirely new program in record time to assist airport sponsors in desperate need of these funds,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.

To see the NH airports receiving aid visit an interactive map.

The CARES Act also provides funds to increase the Federal share to 100% for grants awarded under the fiscal year 2020 appropriations for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Supplemental Discretionary grants. Under normal circumstances, AIP grant recipients contribute a matching percentage of the project costs. Providing this additional funding and eliminating the local share will allow critical safety and capacity projects to continue as planned regardless of airport sponsors’ current financial circumstances.

The FAA will use a streamlined application and grant-agreement process to make this funding immediately available for critical airport needs. The funds will be available as soon as the airport sponsor executes a grant agreement.

The CARES Act provides new funds distributed by various formulas for all airports that are part of the national airport system. This includes all commercial service airports, all reliever airports, and some public-owned general aviation airports.