Airports across the country are about to clear the upgrade list.
Nearly $1 billion in grants were awarded by the federal government to 114 U.S. airports on Thursday, as part of an effort to modernize America’s infrastructure.
The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill of 2021, which sets aside five years of grants to modernize the nation’s aviation infrastructure under the Airport Terminal Program — one of the few aviation-focused aspects of the overall law.
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The money will go toward a variety of projects, ranging from new, faster, more efficient baggage systems and larger, more navigable security checkpoints to new terminal buildings, expanded ground transportation areas and renovated air traffic control towers.
At a news conference at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT), which will receive $27 million to replace aging jet bridges, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that while some of the funding will go to less splashy projects, these still are always essential to the overall travel experience.
“Even most of us infrastructure nerds don’t get up in the morning thinking about jet bridges,” Buttigieg said. “But when your flight arrives on time and you’re just stuck waiting to get off because of a jet bridge problem, you don’t think about anything else.”
Dulles International Airport (IAD) will get $35 million for a new 14-gate terminal building, and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) will use $20 million to expand Concourse B, which currently serves most airlines aside from Delta Air Lines.
The top award goes to Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) and will be used to connect the airport’s terminals after security, making it easier for passengers to navigate the airport and potentially allowing for more connections there .
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One of the largest awards, $40 million, will go to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to fund Terminal 3’s passenger experience and accessibility improvements, such as a widening of the central corridor, a “reconfigured” security checkpoint and new Americans with Disabilities Act Compliant Restrooms.
Some of the projects also involve making airports more sustainable and better able to withstand severe weather caused by climate change. For example, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) will receive $7 million to finance the construction of a new foundation for one of the airport’s main thoroughfares, which is currently being built in an area of land eroded due to flooding.
Smaller airports also received money from the program, including Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) in Florida ($10 million for terminal refurbishment) and Standing Rock Airport in Fort Yates, North Dakota ($700,000 for a new general aviation terminal building) .
In total, the grants will go toward funding 118 projects at 114 airports in 44 states and three territories, the DOT said. A complete list of prices is available on the Federal Aviation Administration website.
Under the Biden administration, the DOT has increasingly turned its attention to the air passenger experience as Americans have increasingly expressed frustrations with airlines and air travel in general in the wake of the pandemic.
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The DOT has proposed several new consumer protections, with Buttigieg particularly vocal about the efforts, and President Joe Biden has called for limits on “junk fees” charged by airlines, hotels and others. The agency also handed out a record fine to Southwest Airlines over a holiday slump that left thousands of passengers stranded across the country.
Still, Buttigieg and the DOT have had to navigate a variety of challenges, including a decades-long air traffic controller shortage that has reached a critical turning point, leading the FAA to issue a slot waiver for New York area airports to to try the accumulation.
Buttigieg, speaking to reports in Charlotte, said the agency’s overall focus was on making travel more reliable and navigable for everyone from frequent flyers to people who travel once a year — or less.
“What all this work is about is helping Americans spend their days, wherever they go, for whatever reason, with less stress and less expense, so they can focus on what really matters. ”
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