Northern Virginia airports receive funding from Va. Aviation Board

The Virginia Aviation Board has awarded nearly $22 million in funding to support Virginia’s 66 public-use airports. A public-use airport is one that is available for use by the general public without a requirement for prior approval of the airport owner or operator, as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Projects funded in Northern Virginia are:

Manassass Regional- construction of taxiway G and taxi lane Y.  State award was for $311,111.00.  (Federal amount is $3.5 million; local amount is $77,777.89)

Leesburg Executive - North End Development Site Preparation design.  State award was $18,222.  (Federal amount is $205,000; local amount is $4,555.78)

Warrenton-Fauquier Airport—Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures Plan Update.  State award is $3,920.  (Local amount is $980)

Culpeper Regional Airport—Land acquisition.  State award is $9,814.  (Federal amount is $110,401; local amount is $2,454)

“Aviation contributes $23 billion to the Virginia economy annually, and transports more than 8.3 million tourists to our Commonwealth each year,” said Governor Ralph Northam in a news release. “This funding will support critical infrastructure upgrades and enhance the operations of our airports, which will in turn improve travel for all Virginians and bring even more visitors on board to visit Virginia.”
 
“The Board provides some level of funding at each of its meetings, but the funding we award each year in August is always the largest that we disburse,” said Virginia Aviation Board Chairman Rod Hall of Prince William County. “It’s a great way to start off the Commonwealth’s fiscal year, and it helps prime the economic pump that is the aviation industry. Each of the 144,000 jobs at Virginia’s airports supports another 2.2 jobs—an additional 316,800 people—in the Commonwealth.”

Members of the Virginia Aviation Board are appointed by the Governor and represent defined geographic areas of the Commonwealth. The Board provides a means of citizen access to the Department of Aviation. The Board is responsible for publicizing and monitoring policies and programs of the Department, recommending regulations to promote and develop safe aviation practices, and allocating funds to localities for aviation development.