Airport Improvement Program

This Assistance Listing Number 20.116 was created in July 2025 included in the previous ALN 20.106, please refer to former ALN 20.106 for all FY24 and FY25 (including any prior years) for any Airport Improvement Program (AIP) financial obligations. D

The annual Airport Improvement Program (AIP) assists sponsors, owners, or operators of public-use airports in the development of a nationwide system of airports adequate to meet the needs of civil aeronautics and the flying public. The purpose of the law includes investment in transportation, environmental protection, and airport infrastructure that will support long-term economic benefits. AIP funds airport infrastructure investments.

States, counties, municipalities, U.S. Territories and possessions, and other public agencies including an Indian tribe or pueblo, the Republics of the Marshall Islands and Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia are eligible for airport development grants if the airport on which the development is required is listed in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). Certain local government organizations may be eligible for grants to implement noise planning and compatibility projects. Private owners of public-use reliever airports or airports having at least 2,500 passengers boarding annually and receiving scheduled passenger aircraft service may also be eligible. Eligible airports are included in the NPIAS. Airports in U.S. territories (American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam) are included in the NPIAS and are eligible. Airports in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and Midway Island are not included in the NPIAS.

The grant program benefits all the eligible applicants listed in this Assistance Listing (states, counties, municipalities, U.S. Territories and possessions, and other public agencies including an Indian tribe or pueblo, the Republics of the Marshall Islands and Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and private owners of reliever airports or airports having at least 2,500 passenger boarding annually and receiving scheduled passenger aircraft service), as well as the entities listed under beneficiary eligibility. For IIJA funded programs eligible airport sponsors are those normally eligible for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) discretionary grants as defined in 49 U.S.C. §47115. This includes a public agency, private entity, state agency, Indian Tribe or Pueblo owning a public-use NPIAS airport, and outside of NPIAS: the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau and the Secretary of the Interior for Midway Island Airport.

AIP Grants can be made for integrated airport system planning in a specific area and airport master planning, construction, or rehabilitation at a public-use airport or portion thereof. Authorizing legislation refers to an airport as any area of land or water used or intended to be used for landing or taking off of aircraft and includes, within five categories of airports listed below, special types of facilities such as seaplane bases and heliports. The statute defines airports by categories which include: commercial service, primary, cargo service, reliever, general aviation airports - defined in Chapter 4, Section 4.5 of AIP Handbook (FAA Order 5100.38D.) General aviation (GA): defined as public airports that are not commercial service airports, and these comprise largest single group of airports in the U.S. airport system. Eligible work at airports consists of: (1)airport master plans;(2)airport noise compatibility plans;(3)land acquisition;(4)site preparation;(5)construction, alteration, and rehabilitation of runways, taxiways, aprons, and certain roads within airport boundaries; (6)construction and installation of airfield lighting, navigational aids, certain related offsite work;(7)safety equipment required for certification of airport facility;(8)security equipment required of the sponsor by Secretary of Transportation by rule or regulation for the safety and security of persons and property on the airport;(9)snow-removal equipment;(10) terminal development;(11)aviation-related weather reporting equipment;(12)equipment to measure runway surface friction;(13)firefighting burn area training structures and land for that purpose, on or off airport; (14)agency-approved noise compatibility projects;(15)relocation of air traffic control towers and navigational aids (including radar) if they impede other projects funded by AIP;(16) land, paving, drainage, aircraft deicing equipment and structures for centralized deicing areas; and(17)projects to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act. Under limited criteria, aircraft hangar construction and automobile parking lots are eligible. Grants for hangars and parking facilities are available on a limited basis based on funding. Grants may not be made for buildings not related to the safety of persons on the airport, decorative landscaping or artwork, or routine maintenance and repair. Technical advisory services are also provided for on a project need basis.

Projects are expected to be completed as expeditiously as possible, and periods of performance are a maximum of 4 years starting from the date of grant award execution. Most airports complete projects within two to three years of grant award.

Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. An environmental impact assessment is required for this program. Alternative environmental reporting and documentation may be acceptable based upon the project type.

AIP supported projects are considered by the FAA Administrator to be necessary to provide for a safe and efficient airport system and to meet the current and projected growth of civil aeronautics will be considered for selection. The airports at which AIP projects are proposed must be included in the National Plan of Integrated Airports Systems (NPIAS). Any additional program selection criteria are outlined in Federal Register Notices and Notices.

Upon program approval for development projects, applicant submits project application, SF 424, Part I (facesheet) and remaining parts of FAA Form 5100-100 to the appropriate FAA field office. Master planning, noise compatibility, and system planning grant applications are submitted to the FAA field offices and, upon approval, grant offers are made. Either the District or Regional Office prepares the agency's Grant Offer, FAA Form 5100-37, for planning and development projects for execution by the grant applicant.

Sponsors are encouraged to submit early in the fiscal year and contact the appropriate FAA Regional or District Office for any supplemental local deadlines. Sponsors must formally accept grant offers no later than September 30 for grant funds appropriated in that fiscal year.

Other. From 90 to 120 days. If the project is challenged on environmental grounds, approval may take longer.