FAA to distribute $40 million to Kentucky airports over next five years

WASHINGTON (WTVQ/Press Release) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will distribute $40 million annually to 51 Kentucky airports over the next five years. These funds are made available through the Airport Infrastructure Grants program, which was established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earlier this year.

In total, the bipartisan bill allocated $25 billion to America’s airports, more of which will be distributed to Kentucky in the coming months. The funding announced Thursday was allocated through a formula described in the legislation.

“Kentucky’s airports don’t just connect our citizens to the rest of the country and the world; they also form a critical part of America’s supply chain. It is more important than ever that our airports have the funds needed to operate effectively,” said U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. “I supported the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earlier this year because of programs like this, which will help overhaul Kentucky’s transportation systems and revive our decaying roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, and river ports. This is just the kind of program Kentucky needs to compete in the 21^st-century global economy.”

“We appreciate the support of Senator McConnell for the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport,” said Dan Mann, Executive Director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. “This funding will go a long way in supporting the continued improvements at SDF including our $400 million terminal modernization program and on-going sustainability initiatives such as our geothermal project to reduce our carbon footprint. These improvements allow us to provide a better, more accessible experience for the traveling public and support the needs of our airline partners while maintaining SDF as a crucial link in the nation’s aerospace system.”

“I am grateful for the hard work of Leader McConnell and many in Washington over these last several months to get the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act across the finish line. CVG will put more than $13 million per year to good use to lead the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati region’s economy out of the pandemic, focusing on capital investments that will support good-paying jobs and improved passenger services,” said Candace McGraw, CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).

“I want to thank Senator McConnell once again for his continued support of Blue Grass Airport. These past five years, with Senator McConnell’s assistance, we have made significant investments to the airfield to improve safety and efficiency for the passenger airlines, as well as for our local corporate and private aircraft operators. In the coming years, these additional grant dollars from the bipartisan infrastructure bill will now allow us to make improvements to the passenger terminal building so that we can provide a modern and comfortable traveling experience for central Kentuckians,” said Eric Frankl, Executive Director of Blue Grass Airport.

The following details how the funding will be allocated: