§9121 Relief for Airports

Summary

Provides $8,000,000,000 from the Treasury for fiscal year 2021, available until September 30, 2024, to help airport sponsors prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. The money must be used only for airport-related purposes. Airports that already got more than four years’ worth of operating funds for COVID relief in fiscal year 2020 cannot get these funds. Up to $6,492,000,000 is for primary and some cargo airports for things like operations, staff, cleaning, sanitizing, fighting pathogens, and debt service. Up to $608,000,000 can pay a 100 percent Federal share for airport development grants in fiscal year 2021 (or top off some 2020 grants). Up to $100,000,000 is for nonprimary airports for similar costs. Up to $800,000,000 is for rent and minimum-guarantee relief to concessions at primary airports, with at least $640,000,000 for eligible small concessions and at least $160,000,000 for eligible large concessions. Most funding is distributed using existing airport funding formulas and each primary airport’s share of 2019 passenger enplanements; nonprimary airports get funds by NPIAS category and then split evenly, rounding up to the nearest $1,000. The FAA may keep up to 0.1 percent for grant administration. Airports that take money must keep at least 90 percent of their workforce employed through September 30, 2021 (counting workers as of March 27, 2020, minus retirements or voluntary separations), unless waived for hardship or safety; nonhub and nonprimary airports are excepted. Noncompliant airports may have funds clawed back. Definitions: eligible large airport concession — in-terminal concession averaging more than $56,420,000 in gross receipts over the prior 3 years; eligible small airport concession — in-terminal concession that is a small business averaging less than $56,420,000 or a joint venture.