FAA invests $31 million in airport cargo projects

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded more than $31 million in grants to expand cargo infrastructure at airports across the country, the Department of Transportation said this week.

“Every day, we rely on goods transported through our nation’s airports,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release Tuesday. “Today’s announcement will make improvements at airports across our country so they can handle cargo more efficiently and help strengthen America’s supply chains.”

The grants will go toward construction, reconstruction, and design projects at nine airports: Chicago Rockford International Airport, Rockford, Ill.; Huntsville International Airport-Carl T. Jones Field in Huntsville, Ala.; Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina; Bishop International Airport in Flint, Mich.; Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Wash.; Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport in Toledo, Ohio; Stockton Metropolitan Airport in Stockton, Calif.; and Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The largest award will go to Ted Stevens Anchorage International, where officials will receive more than $8 million to reconstruct the taxilane and rehabilitate the apron at the airport.

Funding for the projects comes from the Airport Improvement Program during fiscal year 2022. The program pays for a variety of projects, including construction of new and improved airport facilities, repairs to runways and taxiways, maintenance of airfield elements such as lighting or signs, and the purchase of equipment needed to operate and maintain airports, according to the FAA.