The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it will be giving $766 million in funding to 279 airports across the country to help improve safety, sustainability, and accessibility.
"These grants will improve safety, sustainability, and accessibility at airports across our country," FAA Administrator Steve Dickson wrote in a press release.
The FAA is designating funds for increasing capacity and safety, improving sustainability, increasing rural access, and increasing disability accessibility. The FAA detailed a number of the grants that it would be providing to several specific U.S. airports.
Under the category of safety and capacity improvements, the FAA is putting $2.8 million towards safety improvements at Adirondack Regional Airport, Saranac Lake, NY; $3.9 million towards expansions and improvements at Alexandria International Airport, Alexandria, LA; $12.2 million towards bringing Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Glen Burnie, MD, up to FAA standards; $6.9 million towards repairs and improvements for Long Island MacArthur Airport, Islip, NY; and $3 million towards repairs and lighting upgrades for Norfolk International Airport, Norfolk, VA.
Under sustainability projects, the FAA is sending $4.8 million to Great Falls International Airport, Great Falls, MT, to improve efficiency and prevent contamination of stormwater; and $10.6 million to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Louisville, KY, for a new geothermal heating and cooling system.
To improve access to air travel for rural residents in northern Alaska, the FAA is sending $20.7 million to Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport, Atqasuk, AK, to pave roads, improve parking, improve safety and structure durability, and establish taxi transportation to the parking area.
Finally, for improvements to disability access, the FAA is sending $84,000 to Charleston AFB/International Airport, Charleston, SC, for a passenger lift device, $16.4 million to Wilmington International Airport, Wilmington, NC, to expand ADA accessible terminal areas; and $6.1 million to Fort Wayne International Airport, Fort Wayne, IN, to expand service animal-relief areas, lactation rooms, and play areas as well as fund a system that allows compatible hearing aid devices to access the gate announcements.
Out of the total FAA grant, $5.9 million will be going towards the purchase of zero-emission vehicles, $14.5 million will be going towards reducing airport emissions, and funding will also be provided to purchase electric mobile ground power units for planes.
According to Axios, while plenty of attention is given to improving aviation technology, less focus is put on the sustainability issues seen on the ground at the airports themselves. Aircraft may be improving, but the transportation of people and luggage at the airport still contributes a significant amount of emissions and greenhouse gasses. Axios argues that while these improvements are a good thing, there's still a long way and a lot of funding to go before any major headway is made towards combating aviation emissions.
