In a new delivery of funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $970 million to finance projects at 125 airports, with the majority of projects located in terminals and related facilities or around them.
The grants, which the FAA announced on Oct. 24, include projects in 46 states, Guam and Palau. The funds come from the airport terminal program created by the IIJA.
According to the FAA, the new group of projects will include baggage systems, expanded security checkpoints and other terminal-related improvements.
The largest grants in the latest round are $40 million to Tampa International Airport in Florida and $40 million to Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The Tampa project includes connecting the airport’s Terminal D to the main terminal, using an automated people carrier, according to an FAA summary.
The grant to Dulles will help fund the construction of a new 14-gate, 400,000-square-foot terminal that will provide a direct link to the Dulles Aerotrain and an indirect connection to the regional Metrorail system.
Other large grants on the list of winners include: $35 million to Phoenix Sky Harbor International for improvements to the central utility plant and $35 million to Miami International in Florida, to fund two of the six gates of the new Concourse K from the airport. The project includes passenger boarding bridges and a baggage handling system.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement that the grants will help make airport terminal operations “safer, more accessible and more convenient for travelers.”
The IIJA includes $5 billion over five years for the terminal program.
