The FAA and Department of Transportation released the list of airport improvement programs (AIP) that they will fund out of the discretionary portion of the AIP budget for the 2017 fiscal year earlier this week. For small airports, AIP grants can cover 90-95% of the cost of airport improvements such as runway or taxiway construction, airport lighting or the installation of radio navigation equipment. AIP grants come with long-term conditions, including that the airport remain open for public use for the useful life of any AIP-funded program, which has played a role in keeping airports in noise-sensitive areas from being shut down by municipal authorities.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/recent-updates/business-military/aip-grant-recipients-announced