FAA Awards $870 Million for Airport Upgrades, Including $289 Million to LAX
The Federal Aviation Administration announced 339 Airport Infrastructure Grants totaling $870 million for projects including a new terminal access road at Los Angeles International Airport and roof reconstruction at Miami International Airport.
On August 4, the Federal Aviation Administration announced $870 million in new airport infrastructure grants, covering 339 projects across 44 states and two territories. The grants, detailed in an FAA release, include $289 million for a new terminal access road at Los Angeles International Airport and $50 million for terminal roof reconstruction at Miami International Airport, with smaller allocations going to airports in Ohio, Alaska, South Carolina, and Texas.
This is the eighth tranche of fiscal year 2026 allocations under the Airport Infrastructure Grants program, which was created by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The legislation set aside $15 billion for airport infrastructure over five years, and the program has been rolling out in waves since. The $870 million announced in August brings the total distributed so far this fiscal year closer to the full appropriation, though the FAA has not yet released cumulative figures.
The Airport Infrastructure Grants program is distinct from the FAA’s long-standing Airport Improvement Program, which provides annual formula grants for planning and development, but both operate in parallel to address a backlog of needs that, in many cases, involves infrastructure that has exceeded its design life. The new terminal access road at LAX, for instance, is meant to reduce congestion on a road network that serves one of the world’s busiest airports, while Miami’s roof reconstruction addresses a terminal that handles tens of millions of passengers a year in a region vulnerable to hurricane-force winds.
The FAA framed the grants as investments in safety and family-friendly features, a nod to a broader push under Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy to emphasize projects that visibly improve the passenger experience rather than only those with operational or engineering justifications. The release highlighted the range of projects, from runway improvements to terminal modernizations, as part of that approach.
For the airports receiving the largest checks, the money unlocks work that might otherwise have been delayed or broken into smaller phases. LAX’s access road has been on the airport’s master plan for years, and a single $289 million award represents a significant acceleration. Miami’s roof project, while less glamorous, is the kind of repair that becomes exponentially more expensive if deferred.
The 339 grants announced in August are just one piece of a program that will continue through 2026 and beyond, with the IIJA’s $15 billion commitment intended to cover five years of allocations. By design, the program spreads funding broadly: small airports in states like South Carolina and Alaska received grants alongside the megaprojects at LAX and Miami, reflecting the law’s requirement that a portion of the money reach general aviation and rural facilities. Whether the pace of disbursement keeps up with the construction timelines these airports now face is a question the FAA will answer with its next set of announcements.