Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced on Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration would award approximately $10 billion to commercial and general aviation airports from the newly created Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Airport Grant Program.
The effort will provide immediate relief to American families, workers, and businesses. The airports in Augusta are slated to receive a portion of the $10 billion. Augusta Regional at Bush Field will receive $19,376,235 and Daniel Field in Augusta will receive $69,000.
“This $10 billion in emergency resources will help fund the continued operations of our nation’s airports during this crisis and save workers’ jobs,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a news release. The grants will provide economic relief to airports around the country affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
This funding will support continuing operations and replace lost revenue resulting from the sharp decline in passenger traffic and other airport business due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. 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.
The FAA has encouraged airport sponsors to spend the grants funds immediately to help minimize any adverse impact from the current public health emergency.
The CARES Act also provides funds to increase the Federal share to 100 percent 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 to all commercial service airports, all reliever airports and some public-owned general aviation airports.
See all of the awards to Georgia airports below.
CARES Act Grant Amounts to Airports (pursuant to Paragraphs 2-4), 14 April 2020
