Aviation Division

The NC Division of Aviation, a U.S. state government entity and division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina, operates as a federal grant recipient administering airport infrastructure funding distributed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Southern Region under the Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) and related federal programs including the Airport Infrastructure Grants program (CFDA 20.117). The Division serves exclusively as a prime recipient — not a contractor or subcontractor — receiving block grants and distributing sub-awards to local airport authorities, county governments, and municipalities across North Carolina to fund nonprimary airport capital projects.

The Division's portfolio consists entirely of FAA grants, with 100 percent of 64 prime awards originating from the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration, concentrated in the Southern Region (55 awards) and the FAA central office (9 awards). Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $416.2 million, with work performed throughout North Carolina. The Division functions as the designated state intermediary between the FAA and local airport sponsors, obligating and closing out sub-awards while maintaining FAA compliance on planning, environmental assessment, and project reporting. Representative grants include a $25.18 million formula grant (CFDA 20.106, CARES Act funded, September 2, 2025) and a $20.8 million project grant (CFDA 20.106, September 10, 2025) establishing state block grant programs for nonprimary airport infrastructure improvements. Specific sub-awards obligated under these grants fund runway and taxiway rehabilitation, terminal construction and expansion, hangar development, aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle acquisition, runway lighting reconstruction, apron pavement work, taxilane construction, weather reporting equipment installation, and FAA Contract Tower modernization at eligible airports statewide, with sub-recipients including Jackson County Airport, Rocky Mount Wilson Regional Airport Authority, Town of Siler City, City of Hickory, and multiple county airport authorities.

Recent activity has grown substantially: two awards in 2022, six in 2023, seven in 2024, and fifteen in 2025, with five awards recorded through July 2026. Eleven awards carry ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months, representing recompete opportunity for the underlying airport infrastructure projects as the Division cycles through new block grant cycles. The Division also receives cooperative agreements providing administrative funding (approximately $255,000 to $257,800 per award in recent cycles) to support personnel, contracting, and oversight costs necessary to administer state block grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the FAA Contract Tower Grant Program, and the Airport Terminal Program (CFDA 20.117). These administrative awards run through mid-2029 and fund the Division's role as the pass-through intermediary managing obligations, closeouts, and federal compliance across the state's nonprimary airport system.