U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton—along with Congressmen Rick Crawford, French Hill and Bruce Westerman—announced the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded over $4.9 million in federal grants to airports and airfields in Arkansas to off-set costs and maintain jobs as a result of COVID-19 as well as provide for increased sanitization to combat the spread of pathogens at these facilities.
The DOT, through the Federal Aviation Administration, is distributing the funds appropriated through the Coronavirus Relief and Response Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, which passed with the support of the entire Arkansas Congressional Delegation in December 2020.
“Air travel has been drastically impacted by the pandemic. Supporting the airline and aviation-related industries with these federal funds is important to our economic recovery. We are pleased Arkansas communities’ opportunities for commerce will continue with the help of these DOT awards,” members said.
The following awardees are recipients of CRRSA funding:
- Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Filed
- $4,770,746 to City of Little Rock-Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission
- Including an additional CRRSA concessions grant to provide economic relief from rent and minimum annual guarantees to on-airport car rental, on-airport parking and in-terminal concessions.
- Including an additional CRRSA concessions grant to provide economic relief from rent and minimum annual guarantees to on-airport car rental, on-airport parking and in-terminal concessions.
- $4,770,746 to City of Little Rock-Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission
- Jonesboro Municipal (Craighead County)
- $57,000 to the City of Jonesboro
- Memorial Field Airport (Garland County)
- $23,000 to the City of Hot Springs
- $23,000 to the City of Hot Springs
- Searcy Municipal Airport (White County)
- $23,000 to the City of Searcy
- $23,000 to the City of Searcy
- Arkansas International Airport (Mississippi County)
- $13,000 to the Blytheville-Gosnell Regional Airport Authority
- Monticello Municipal/Ellis Field Airport (Drew County)
- $13,000 to the City of Monticello
- Newport Regional Airport (Jackson County)
- $13,000 to the City of Newport
- Ozark-Franklin County Airport (Franklin County)
- $9,000 to Franklin County
Last month, members of the Arkansas Congressional Delegation announced more than $4.5 million in CRRSA funding was awarded to state airports and airfields by the DOT. CRRSA was signed into law by former President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020. The deadline to apply for the program’s grants is June 30, 2021.
