In the proposed White House budget for fiscal year 2012, guaranteed funding for large- and medium-sized airports was cut.
Airport grants would be cut by $1.1B in the proposed budget, and the White House says large airports can use airport landing fees, parking revenues and bonds to make up the difference and enhance their improvements. Smaller commercial and general-aviation airports would instead be the recipients of federal airport grants.
A separate $3B competitive grant program would be available for hub airports, a plan President Barack Obama suggested in September that has yet to be approved by Congress.
Among his suggestions for larger airports to recoup funding lost in the cuts, Obama urged an increase in the passenger facility charge.
The proposed cuts in airport construction grants for airport improvements concerns airport officials, who say the money is spent on infrastructure and is used to create jobs.
Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International-North America, expressed frustration at the announcement.
“If enacted, the president’s proposal would certainly reduce the number of jobs created by airports for local projects,” Principato says in a statement. “While I am pleased that the Obama Administration has recommended that airports utilize local financing to create local jobs by funding local infrastructure projects, this budget proposal to raise the PFC user fee is two years too late. Most especially because we know that Congress will not include this provision in the FAA bill despite the fact that it would allow local communities to create local jobs building local projects with local resources.”
The proposed budget also included:
– $1.24B for the Next Generation Air Transportation System
– $82M to install 275 screening machines at airport security checkpoints, aiming to have 1,275 in airports by the end of next year
– $173M in Essential Air Service, which helps subsidize airline service to smaller communities.
