Ainsworth Airport Authority

Ainsworth Airport Authority, a U.S. local government entity operating as an airport authority in Ainsworth, Nebraska, receives direct federal grants from the Federal Aviation Administration to fund runway resurfacing, taxiway rehabilitation, apron pavement work, hangar construction, and airfield navigational aids at Ainsworth Regional Airport. The Authority acts exclusively as a grant recipient (100% of recent awards are prime grants) and does not hold federal contracts or sit on contract vehicles.

The Authority's customer base is monolithic: all 17 recent awards derive from the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, with 11 awards explicitly attributed to the FAA Central Region. Combined obligated dollars across the grant footprint total $13.4 million. Recent work centers on airport infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements funded through two primary FAA grant programs. A $1.13 million Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.116) award issued June 1, 2026, funds pavement resurfacing for Runway 13-31 (5,501 feet), Runway 17-35 (6,824 feet), Taxiways A, B, and C (9,560 feet), and the North Asphalt Apron (20,000 square yards), with completion scheduled by May 7, 2030. A complementary $418,840 Airport Infrastructure Grants award (CFDA 20.117) issued May 8, 2026, funds the same airfield pavement scope as partial project cost. Prior grants include a June 2023 hangar construction project (two linked grants totaling full project funding through the Airport Improvement Program and an associated BIIL-funded infrastructure grant, with completion by June 27, 2027), a May 2022 Runway 13/31 visual guidance system installation (formula grant, ultimate completion May 17, 2026), and an August 2021 American Rescue Plan Act economic relief grant for airport operations and COVID-19 response (completion August 10, 2025).

Grant activity is episodic rather than continuous — two awards in 2020, two in 2021, one in 2022, two in 2023, and two in 2026 — reflecting the project-based nature of airport capital funding cycles. Two awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months (the 2021 ARPA relief grant and the 2022 visual guidance system project), creating potential for follow-on grants or recompete solicitation. As a nonprimary public-use airport facility, Ainsworth qualifies for AIP support under federal civil aviation infrastructure programs; the Authority's grant portfolio reflects small regional airport infrastructure maintenance and expansion typical of FAA formula and project grant recipients outside the primary commercial hub system.