Rural airports in Bowling Green, Memphis, and Tarkio, Mo., all will benefit from federal Airport Improvement Program grants meant to improve runway rehabilitation and apron construction.
The money, which stems from aviation fuel tax money, is dispatched to public agencies and private entities to plan and develop those public-use airports included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.
“The Airport Improvement Program is vital to the continued existence of rural airports but hadn’t seen an increase in funding in 10 years. That’s why I pushed to include additional funding for small airports in last year’s FAA Reauthorization bill,” U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.). “As a pilot, safety is my number one concern and the AIP program makes it possible for these airports to properly maintain critical infrastructure. Rural airports contribute to the economic viability of our communities and ensure their continued success which is why I’m pleased to see several airports in my district receive this much-needed funding.”
The Airport Improvement Program benefited from an additional $1 billion in funding under last year’s FAA Reauthorization Bill. It could gain even further from the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019, to which Grave has made an amendment that would increase its funding by another $650 million per year. That bill was recently advanced by the Transportation Committee.