Mississippi Press
Local airports to receive federal grant money to help offset economic losses during COVID-19 outbreak
By Warren Kulo
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport will receive the lion’s share of nearly $35 million in grants awarded by the federal government to Mississippi airfields suffering economic losses during the COVID-19 shutdown.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants were made available to the airfields directly from the U.S. Treasury -- part of the recent Coronavirus Air, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The Gulfport-Biloxi airport is receiving the largest grant -- nearly $21 million -- more than all other Mississippi airports combined. The Trent Lott International Airport in Moss Point will receive $69,000. Last year, Trent Lott airport received nearly $7 million in RESTORE Act funds for improvements.
Mississippi’s U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith announced the grants Tuesday.
“Mississippi’s airports provide an essential service to our state that has been dramatically impacted by the coronavirus outbreak,” said Wicker, who as chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee was responsible for negotiating many of the transportation-related provisions in the CARES Act legislation, including support for airports and air carriers.
“This emergency funding will help our airports mitigate the worst effects of the coronavirus on their operations so they can continue to support air travel after this crisis has ended.”
Hyde-Smith agreed.
“Helping to ensure continued operation of airports in Mississippi is important for public safety and our economic recovery," she said. “This series of FAA grants is intended to help sustain these facilities as our state works through the coronavirus outbreak.”
The second largest grant was the $8.5 million awarded to Jackson’s Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. The Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus, Key Field in Meridian, and the Tupelo Regional airport each received grants of just over $1 million.
A full list of the grants to Mississippi airfields can be found here.