The latest COVID relief funding bill, passed by Congress in late December and signed by President Trump Dec. 27, includes about $2 billion in support for the nation’s airports, including $45 million for general aviation airports.
H.R. 133 also includes an additional $20 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which supports grants to small businesses experiencing temporary hardship and loss of revenue as a result of the pandemic. The package also provides an additional $15 billion in payroll support for air carriers, which also applies to many general aviation operators and businesses, and $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for small businesses to continue to meet their payroll obligations.
“We welcome passage of this legislation, which supports businesses and communities that depend on general aviation at a time when they have been hit particularly hard by the global pandemic. We look forward to working with our partners and members of Congress to ensure that we continue to support general aviation and smaller airports, which are a critical part of our infrastructure, economy and a lifeline for small businesses and rural communities around the country,” said Selena Shilad, executive director of the Alliance for Aviation Across America.
General aviation helps businesses of all sizes to transport tools and personnel, access plants and supply chains, and reach thousands of communities that are inaccessible by commercial air service. About 85% of the businesses that utilize general aviation are small- to mid-sized companies, and there are more than 5,000 airports across the country, with most commercial traffic operating out of the top 30 airports. As a result, for thousands of communities across the country, these aircraft and airports are a literal lifeline, supporting economic activity emergency services such as fire-fighting, law enforcement, medical transportation, search and rescue, powerline maintenance and pipeline inspection, and many other services, alliance officials note.
General aviation has also been vital in distributing personal protection equipment (PPE) to hospitals and rural communities across the county, as well as test samples to labs, and many other supplies to communities and patients in need.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, general aviation traffic has been down more than 20%, compared with the same period in 2019, alliance officials noted.
“$45 million for general aviation airports” is certainly good news. But it would be interesting to know exactly how that money is to be distributed?
To whom and where are the checks going, and how can they be spent?