FAA to Deliver $1.1 Billion to Upgrade Airports, Including Equipping Runway Vehicles with Transmitters

Kim Stevens National News, Airports

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced a $1.1 billion investment into upgrading critical airport infrastructure, adding family-friendly features, and installing vehicle movement area transmitters (VMATS) onto airport vehicles across the U.S.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is delivering 280 grants to airports in 46 states and three territories through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), including:

  • $43 million to 12 airports for noise mitigation projects.
  • $30.7 million to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for runway reconstruction.
  • $18.9 million to Shreveport Regional Airport in Louisiana for terminal expansion.
  • $11.5 million to Mankato Regional Airport in Minnesota for a new contract tower.
  • $10.9 million to equip 3,000 airport vehicles with VMATs at 61 airports to help air traffic controllers track vehicles on runways and taxiways.
  • $2 million to McAllen International Airport in Texas for a terminal expansion that includes baggage claim, restrooms, nursing stations, and ticketing counters.

“To usher in the Golden Age of Travel, we are upgrading airport infrastructure, enhancing safety on our runways, and expanding family-friendly features in terminals across the country. This over billion dollar investment includes critical safety tools like vehicle transmitters to ensure our air traffic controllers have the best visibility possible,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.

“As we continue to strengthen the National Airspace System, we are providing funding for airports to quickly put critical safety investments in across the country,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “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. This is about giving our controllers the tools and technology they need to safely manage an increasingly complex National Airspace System.”

Thanks to the passage of the Working Families Tax Cut Act, the FAA received $16.5 million to equip all FAA airport vehicles with VMATs. In addition to using federal grant money to equip their vehicles with VMATs, airports can use AIP funding for infrastructure projects such as runways, taxiways, signage, lighting, markings and other safety-related infrastructure needs.

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.