Cantwell Announces Over $10.8 Million in Grants to Washington State Airports

$5.2 Million going to Tri-Cities Airport, $5.4 Million going to Paine Field

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced more than $10.8 million in grants from the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded to Washington airports through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). These grants are funded in part by $100 million that Cantwell helped secure in the American Rescue Plan Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Thanks to this grant provision, the projects will not have to pay the usual local match.

The funding provides economic relief to eligible commercial service, reliever, and general aviation airports. Details for each grant are linked in the table below. Funding from these grants will largely provide economic relief funds for costs related to operations, rent relief for airport concessions, COVID-19 safety precautions, and combatting the spread of pathogens at airports.

DOT ARPA Grant Recipients include:

Technical language in the CARES Act, passed in March 2020, left airports like Paine Filed ineligible for critical COVID-19 relief funds. The formula was based on how many passengers an airport served in 2018, while passenger airline service at Paine Field did not begin until March 2019. In September 2020, Senator Cantwell worked with the FAA to provide $5.5 million to keep the airport financially sound, while also working to ensure the airport wouldn’t be left out of future federal relief.

Since opening in March 2019, Paine Field’s passenger terminal has provided Snohomish County residents with convenient air service without having to drive to Sea-Tac. In February 2020, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, monthly passenger traffic at Paine Field was 71,022 travelers. One year after the opening of Paine Field’s passenger terminal, the airport hit 1 million travelers.

Senator Cantwell has long supported airports throughout the State of Washington. Through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), Senator Cantwell has helped airports throughout Washington state get funding. In June, Cantwell announced over $217 Million in grants from the Airport Rescue Grants program awarded to Washington airports to help keep people safe and employed by reimbursing operational expenses, debt service payments, and costs related to combating the spread of pathogens at the airport.

In May, Cantwell announced $23 million in AIP funding going to Sea-Tac, Bellingham, Walla Walla, and Pullman-Moscow airports. In February 2020, she helped secure funding for Pullman to start a new nonstop route to Denver. In just the last couple of years, she has successfully secured $23 million in federal funding to support airport upgrades and the construction of a new runway at Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport. In 2017, she secured $5.2 million to make other critical improvements at the airport. Cantwell also recently helped secure funding to help establish nonstop air service between San Francisco and Pangborn Memorial Airport in Wenatchee.

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