Airports in the US are set to receive a total of $10 billion to help them through the current coronavirus pandemic. This funding is from the government CARES program, and will enable them to cover operational costs, including salaries, during the slowdown in traffic.

Agreeing funding for airports

Up to $10 billion in funding for airports was announced by the US Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao on April 14th, 2020. This is much needed to help airports cover their costs, during the current unprecedented slowdown in operations. Speaking at the time of the launch, the Transportation Secretary said:

“This $10 billion in emergency resources will help fund the continued operations of our nation’s airports during this crisis and save workers’ jobs.”

Covering all airport costs

The funding will be available to all commercial and general aviation airports in the US. And the funds can cover all airport operating expenses (including employee payroll), capital expenditure, and debt repayments.

In terms of commitment from airports, the main requirement is that they commit to continuing to employ staff. Hub and primary airports have to maintain 90 percent of their employment (as of March 27th) through to the end of 2020.

How much for each airport?

Of course, an act of this size and value is going to be complex in its scope and application. You can see full details of the CARES act on the US Congress website and airport-specific information on the FAA website.

In general, airports will receive funding based on their passenger volume (for the year 2018). Commercial airports will receive funds based on their proportion of passengers boarding (compared to the nationwide total). But these will be altered depending on the airport's total debt and money in reserve.

General aviation airports (with no scheduled flights and/or low passenger volume) will be treated differently and receive funds depending on their category.

ENO, center for transportation, has carried out some interesting early analysis of what each airport may receive. It estimates, for example, that Atlanta Hartsfield (with around 5.8 percent of total US passenger boarding) should receive around $213 million, before adjustments for debt and reserves.

Part of broader CARES funding

The airport grants are part of the broader US-government created Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was announced around two weeks ago, providing a total of $2 trillion relief across all sectors of the economy, the most substantial relief package in US history.

The US President has already made it clear that aviation is a top priority for aid during the pandemic. As well as the $10 billion for airports, there has previously been announced a total of $50 billion for US airlines (half of this is grant-based, and half is available as loans). American Airlines, for example, has already confirmed it will receive $5.8 billion through this scheme.

Whether the funding is enough to see airports (and airlines) through the crisis remains to be seen. Aviation demand, of course, has declined dramatically (according to IATA, global air traffic is down almost 80 percent over 2020, and around 60 percent within the US). Its too early to know how soon this will return, particularly for long-haul and international flights. But airports are at least better placed to plan with this financing available.