WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) led a bipartisan group of his Senate colleagues in urging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expedite the disbursement of grant funding that helps upgrade airport infrastructure and makes air travel more efficient. In a letter to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, Peters expressed the importance of investments from both the Airport Improvement Plan (AIP) and Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) programs, which provide formula-based funding awards to nearly 3,300 public-use airports across the nation, including Michigan’s 18 commercial airports and nearly 70 additional public use airports across the state. Despite these investments being made annually, funding is often not available to airports until late June or July, which impacts some airports’ ability to fully leverage these investments.
“For small airports with limited resources and in states with truncated construction seasons due to severe weather, this delay poses significant challenges,” the senators wrote. “It results in project cancellations, increased costs, and makes each federal dollar less effective.”
The Senators went on to highlight the role that airports play in stimulating economic growth and job creation, arguing that more timely investments from AIP and AIG would help improve economic development initiatives in communities across the country.
The Senators continued: “Small and large airports alike are also critical arteries for interstate commerce, tourism travel, and local economic growth. Recent reports show U.S. commercial airports supported 12.8 million jobs and produced $1.8 trillion in economic output in 2024 and general aviation supported over 1.3 million jobs and $339.2 billion in total economic output in the U.S. We all have a vested interest in reducing red tape and maximizing the effectiveness of AIP and AIG entitlement funds. Doing so would ensure airports can deliver projects without unnecessary delays or cost escalations and provide greater benefits to the constituents we all serve.”
The letter is supported by the Michigan Department of Transportation, National Association of State Aviation Officials, the American Association of Airport Executives, and the Transportation Construction Coalition.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
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