FAA Awards New Airport Infrastructure Grants As TSA Expects Record July 4th

The FAA has granted another $289 million to U.S. airports for infrastructure projects, including $66.7 million to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) for taxiway work.

The infrastructure law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021 provides $25 billion to fund selected airport infrastructure projects, and this is the seventh tranche of money doled out by the FAA under terms of the legislation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the funds are increasingly important because of rising volumes of traffic at U.S. airports. He noted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is reporting a record number of passengers going through airport screening checkpoints.

According to the TSA, the agency anticipates screening more than 16.2 million passengers from July 3-8, the period surrounding the July 4 Independence Day holiday in the U.S. That would mark a 5.5% increase over the 2023 Independence Day travel period, according to the TSA.

The TSA said it expects “the peak travel day will be Sunday, July 7, when the agency expects to screen more than 3 million individuals at 434 airports."

"High travel volumes and busy security checkpoints have become the norm lately," TSA added. "Twelve of the agency's top 15 busiest travel days [since its 2001 inception] nationally have occurred since mid-May.”

Buttigieg said in a statement that the “latest round of funding will support key improvements to terminals, runways and baggage systems.”

The federal money going to PHX, which received the largest grant in this round, will be used for “site demolition and preparation for a new 2,100-ft. taxiway to accommodate more flights,” according to the FAA. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will get $30.1 million to fund runway reconstruction. Philadelphia International Airport has been granted $22.1 million for the “rehabilitation of a taxiway and engineered safety enhancements to a runway,” the FAA said.

Hollywood Burbank Airport in southern California received $8.2 million to fund the third phase of construction on its new terminal building. Overall, 129 airports will receive some money from the latest round of grants.

In addition to the 2021 infrastructure bill, the recently passed FAA Reauthorization Act 2024 increases Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding by more than $600 million annually to $4 billion per year—another source of grants for airports looking to fund projects.

But Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) has warned U.S. airports still face a “significant” financing gap for infrastructure projects, saying money coming from federal taxes and grants will fall well short of airports’ infrastructure capital needs in coming years.

Speaking at Aviation Week Network’s recent GAD Americas conference in Miami, Liying Gu, ACI-NA’s vice president for economic affairs and research, said the combined federal funding for U.S. airport projects from the infrastructure legislation, passenger facility charges and AIP will come to around $12 billion per year in 2025 and 2026. But annual infrastructure needs at U.S. airports top $30 billion, she said, adding that airports are relying heavily on debt to finance improvement projects.