The United States will allocate nearly $1 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to invest in airport infrastructure. The U.S. giant is reaching and is projected to surpass pre-pandemic traffic levels this year.
This funding granted through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Act will benefit 99 airports in the country. To meet the growing demand for air travel, these funds will be used to improve key areas of these terminals. It will seek to streamline passenger transit through airports, increase security checkpoints and improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
«Today’s funding doesn’t just improve airport terminals. It creates opportunities in communities large and small for good-paying jobs and the chance to be part of our nation’s thriving aviation sector,» said A. Bradley Mims, FAA Deputy Administrator.
The following are details of the work that will be carried out with these funds.
New terminals or expansions
Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Iowa: $10.8 million will be used to build a new terminal to replace the one built in 1948. The current terminal has outlived its useful life and is operating beyond capacity.
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Utah: US$29 million will be used for the phased remodeling of the obsolete and collapsed north terminal. Phase 4 of the project, which adds 16 new gates, will also begin.
Security checkpoints and check-in counters:
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), Florida: $10 million will go toward expanding the airport terminal, which would add new security checkpoint lanes, five boarding gates and a new energy-efficient power plant.
Savannah/Hilton Head Savannah International Airport (SAV), Georgia: $6.5 million will be used to expand the security checkpoint, expanding the terminal by 23,000 square feet.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Illinois: $50 million will rehabilitate and modernize the Terminal 3 entrance, which is 60 years old. This modernization will include TSA checkpoints, improvements to the central concourse, and upgrades to the passenger baggage system to streamline the terminal’s traffic flow.
Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), South Carolina: $5 million will be used to expand the terminal, adding a new screening lane to the passenger security checkpoint and bringing the checkpoint up to current TSA standards.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Seattle, Washington: $16 million will facilitate moving Security Checkpoint 1 from the ticketing floor to the lower level, where baggage claim is located. This move would increase screening capacity and reduce wait times.
Improvements to baggage systems
Anchorage Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Alaska: $4.4 million will be spent to upgrade the baggage handling system and install common-use equipment.
Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport (LAW), Oklahoma: $4.3 million will be used to expand the baggage claim and receiving areas, the addition of a new security checkpoint. The lounge will also be expanded, allowing for the addition of two boarding gates.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Maryland: with an investment of US$38 million, concourses A and B will be expanded, which will include improvements to the baggage system and a direct connection between the two concourses. On the airside, apron operations space will be expanded.
Winsor Locks Bradley International Airport (BDL), Connecticut: $5 million will be allocated for the terminal expansion project, which includes a new check-in hall and new baggage check-in system. Also, waiting rooms will be expanded, new gate spaces will be created, and work will be done to streamline passenger traffic.
Key West International Airport (EYW), Florida: $13.3 million will finance the renovation of 20,000 square feet of the air terminal. This work will expand the baggage claim area and security checkpoint. It will also finance the construction of a new 48,800-square-foot concourse, which will include seven boarding bridges.
Other projects financed by this economic incentive will improve access to the airports, both public transportation and roads. It will fund projects to make terminals more sustainable and other projects that allow easier access to airports for small communities.
