One Billion Dollars Goes to Infrastructure Grants for 354 U.S. Airports The U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao recently announced a billion-dollar plan to improve airport safety, travel, and economies around the country. This is the fifth allotment of the multi-billion-dollar FAA AIP airport funding project. Oct 04, 2019 The industry of flying: as nonchalantly as we tend to regard flying (commercially or otherwise), it comes with some serious safety and security considerations. As a part of a larger funding project for U.S. airports, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced an allotment of one billion dollars to 354 airports in 44 U.S. states. The department will award a total of $986 million in airport infrastructure grants to hundreds of U.S. airports as well as those in Puerto Rico and Micronesia. This is the fifth allotment of the total $3.18 billion in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the U.S. The massive funding project has a multi-faceted goal: to improve airport safety, better travel, generate jobs, and facilitate economic opportunities for local communities, explained U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. A handful of specific projects have been selected for airports. Among these are runway reconstruction and rehabilitation; construction of firefighting facilities; noise mitigation; emissions reduction; and maintenance of taxiways, aprons, and terminals. While efforts like these will undoubtedly make airports that much easier and more comfortable places to travel in, they will ultimately increase airport safety, too. The construction equipment supported by this funding increases the airports’ safety, emergency response capabilities, and capacity, and could support further economic growth within each airport’s region, explains the DOT. With 3,332 airports and 5,000 paved runways, the airport infrastructure in the U.S. needs constant attention to ensure safety for all. U.S. civil aviation accounts for a whopping $1.6 trillion—yes, trillion—in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs, according to the FAA’s most recent economic analysis. The people depend on reliable aviation infrastructure, to say the least. Let's block ads! (Why?)