Charlotte’s airport lost out on $167M in federal funds. Airport officials want answers
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials are asking the FAA for answers after the airport’s application for federal grants to aid its Concourse A expansion was rejected last week.
The FAA approved almost $1 billion in grants to 85 airports across the county, including Asheville Regional Airport, which will receive $15 million to construct a new air traffic control tower. No other airports in the Carolinas received grants.
But when the grant recipients were announced Friday, Charlotte Douglas — the fifth-busiest airport in the world by arrivals and departures — was not on the list. It requested $167.5 million from the FAA.
CLT will still apply for federal money in year two of the FAA’s program, a five-year slate of grants totaling $5 billion for airport infrastructure improvements, airport spokeswoman Lee Davis told The Charlotte Observer.
The Concourse A expansion will cost $231 million, adding 10 gates, a retail store, a restaurant and two bars to the terminal. The project’s timeline and funding won’t be affected by the airport losing out on year one grants, Davis said, and should still be completed by fall of 2024.
The FAA did not provide details as to why Charlotte’s application was rejected.
“The highly competitive Airport Terminal Program received over 650 applications totaling $14 billion in projects,” FAA spokeswoman Brittany Trotter told The Charlotte Observer in an email. The FAA encouraged airports not selected for grants to reapply annually. The project’s funding will last to 2026.
The money was approved through Congress’ bipartisan infrastructure deal signed into law in November. North Carolina GOP Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr supported the bill, while their Republican counterparts in the House all voted against it.
The concourse expansion is one of several construction projects ongoing at Charlotte Douglas.
A fourth runway is expected to open by 2027, and a $608 million lobby expansion is set to be completed by 2025.
This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 12:05 PM.
