Res Communis

Airport Funding Reduced In 2012 FAA Budget

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: Aviation Week

The Obama administration’s $18.66 billion fiscal 2012 budget request for the FAA reduces guaranteed airport grant money by more than $1 billion and asks Congress to alleviate this by approving an increase in passenger facility charges (PFCs) for “large” airports.

The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) budget baseline is cut to $2.4 billion, compared with $3.5 billion in the previous two fiscal years. This came as a blow to airports—a consequence, according to airport officials, of eliminating funding for hub airports. The administration says large airports may qualify for higher PFCs if Congress authorizes them.

The large airports may seek, on a competitive basis, funding from the $50 billion infrastructure package the administration dubbed “Roads, Railways and Runways.” The AIP share of that stimulus-like package is $3.1 billion. However, this extra funding is a one-off intended to ease the transition to lower AIP levels. [Full story]