Kentucky airports will receive $40 million annually over the next five years through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell announced Thursday.
These funds are made available through the Airport Infrastructure Grants program, which was established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earlier this year.
Senator McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader, supported the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and helped it pass the Senate this year. In total, the bipartisan bill allocated $25 billion to the nation’s airports, more of which will be distributed to Kentucky in the coming months. The funding announced Thursday was allocated through a formula described in the legislation.
Of the fifty-one Kentucky airports to benefit, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) will receive the most each year, with more than $13.7 million expected annually.
Senator Rand Paul (R) and Northern Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie (R) both voted against the bill. In the Kentucky congressional delegation, only Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth (D-Louisville) joined McConnell in supporting it.
“Kentucky’s airports don’t just connect our citizens to the rest of the country and the world; they also form a critical part of America’s supply chain. It is more important than ever that our airports have the funds needed to operate effectively,” said McConnell, in a news release. “I supported the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act earlier this year because of programs like this, which will help overhaul Kentucky’s transportation systems and revive our decaying roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, and river ports. This is just the kind of program Kentucky needs to compete in the 21st-century global economy.”
“I am grateful for the hard work of Leader McConnell and many in Washington over these last several months to get the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act across the finish line,” said Candace McGraw, CEO of CVG. “CVG will put more than $13 million per year to good use to lead the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati region’s economy out of the pandemic, focusing on capital investments that will support good-paying jobs and improved passenger services.”
-Staff report