WASHINGTON – Illinois Valley Regional Airport, Pontiac Municipal Airport, and Dixon Municipal Airport are amongst The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration grant recipients. $8 billion will be awarded to airports across the U.S. in efforts to keep workers employed, construction projects going, and help airports recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois Valley Regional Airport will receive $59,000, and Pontiac and Dixon Municipal Airport will be awarded $32,000 each.
“The Airport Rescue Grants keep workers employed and help the aviation sector recover as more Americans get vaccinated and begin traveling again,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These grants are part of the Administration’s commitment to build back a better and safer transportation system throughout our country.”
Chicago O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Ill., will receive a total of $288 million under the program. This includes $253.5 million to support airport operations and an additional $35.0 million to support concessionaires that operate at the airport. Of the funding to concessionaire operators, $28.0 million is designated for small companies.
The funding provides economic relief to eligible commercial service, reliever, and general aviation airports. The money will help keep people safe and employed by reimbursing operational expenses, debt service payments, and costs related to combating the spread of pathogens at the airport. Airports can also use the money to provide rent relief to in-terminal retail and concession companies. The funding requires that airports continue to employ at least 90 percent of their pre-pandemic employees for those airports that cover a majority of the traveling public.
“The FAA is committed to working with the aviation industry as it recovers from the impacts of the pandemic,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “These airport rescue grants provide needed support to our nation’s airports as we recover from the pandemic’s impacts.”
Under the Airport Rescue Grants program:
- Primary commercial service airports will share approximately $6.5 billion based on the number of annual boardings.
- An additional $800 million will be available to primary commercial service airports for providing relief to in-terminal airport concessions
- Non-primary commercial service and general aviation airports will share $100 million based on their airport categories, such as national, regional, local, and basic.
- The remaining funds of the $8 billion will be used to cover an airport’s cost-share portion on grants through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program as well as the supplemental discretionary grants. This means airports will likely not have to pay their portion of a given project.
For additional program information and the amount of funding each airport is eligible for, please visit the FAA’s website.
