Feds award $13.8M to three Maine airports; Portland and Bangor directors urge more investment

Courtesy / Biddeford Municipal Airport Biddeford Municipal Airport has been awarded $7.5 million through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program for updates to its runway, taxiway and tarmac

Write a Comment

By Staff

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $13.8 million to airports in Biddeford, Eastport and Jackman in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, played a key role in securing an additional $1 billion in airport-improvement funding last year that was prioritized for small and non-primary airports such as Biddeford, Eastport and Newton Field in Jackman.

“Maine’s airports are vital pieces of our state’s infrastructure that promote job creation and economic development throughout the surrounding communities,” Collins said in a news release. “Throughout the state, airports play a critical role not only to transport residents and visitors, but also to provide medical services for those in rural communities in emergencies when seconds count. These investments will allow the airports to make much-needed improvements to their taxiways and runways, improving the safety and efficiency of operations.”

Here’s how the funding will be used:

Biddeford Municipal Airport: $7.5 million for updates to its runway, taxiway, and tarmac.
Eastport Municipal Airport: $5.25 million for runway rehabilitation and lighting improvements.
Newton Field Airport in Jackman: $1.05 million to extend its runway to accommodate ambulance air service by LifeFlight of Maine.

The AIP airport grant program strengthens the nation’s aviation infrastructure by funding airport infrastructure projects such as runways, taxiways, airport signage, airport lighting and airport markings. Airports are entitled to a certain amount of AIP funding each year, based on passenger volume. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, then the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding, according to the FAA.

AIP funds originate from the Airport and Airway Trust fund, which draws support from user
fees, fuel taxes and other revenue sources.

Portland and Bangor directors: More investment is needed

In separate guest columns published last week by the Bangor Daily News and Portland Press Herald, the directors of Maine’s two largest commercial service airports said more support is needed from the federal government to modernize airport infrastructure in Maine and across the country. In all, Maine airports face nearly $300 million in airport infrastructure needs through 2023, they wrote, adding that meeting the infrastructure needs of Maine’s airports would create more than 6,000 jobs across the state.

The commentaries — by Bangor International Airport’s Anthony Caruso in the Bangor Daily News and Portland International Jetport’s Paul Bradbury in the Portland Press Herald — coincide with growing debate in Washington, D.C., over whether the cap needs to be lifted on Passenger Facility Charge, which hasn’t gone up in 19 years. The PFC is currently capped at a maximum of $4.50 per person per flight segment, and is limited to two flight segments on a one-way trip, which means a consumer pays no more than $9 per trip.

It’s up to eligible airports how much to charge — the fee is folded into the price of a ticket — and virtually all airports levy some amount.

Airports across the country say the federally imposed cap on the passenger user fee, which was created by the federal government in 1992, hasn’t been adjusted for inflation in 20 years. As a result, they say, it hasn’t kept pace with their growing infrastructure needs.

“It is critical for Maine businesses and people to have a robust connection to the national and global air transportation system,” Caruso wrote in the Bangor Daily News. “This can only be accomplished through the continuous investment and support of our existing local aviation infrastructure. The user-supported, locally implemented, non-tax-based revenue provided by the passenger facilities charge is a proven and successful program for funding airport infrastructure.”

Bradbury wrote the Portland Press Herald that the Portland International Jetport proposed a 20-year, $312 million capital improvement plan as part of a sustainable airport master planning process to accommodate the expected 40% increase in passenger traffic over this timeframe.

“The Portland City Council approved the plan, and in December 2018 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accepted an environmental study that helps clear the way for construction and renovations to move forward,” Bradbury wrote. “But there’s a problem: paying for these upgrades. Infrastructure projects at the jetport, like those at airports across the country, are funded in part by the Passenger Facility Charge, a nominal fee that is paid by air travelers who fly in and out of our airports.”

Bradbury said the cap on the PFC “presents a particular challenge to the Jetport and could significantly stall our planned upgrade,” noting that all PFC funds collected by the jetport are spent to retire bonds that funded previous terminal development projects.

“So unless the PFC is increased we cannot fund future projects,” he wrote. “We need Congress to modernize the PFC to move forward with infrastructure updates at the Jetport, as well as other airports like ours. That way, we can capture a greater share of those growing tourist and business dollars to invest right here in Maine.”