MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) – The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States Department of Transportation has accepted the downtown mobile airport as part of the military airport program.

“We are very happy to be accepted into the program. This program allows for more flexible options as we continue to build and improve Mobile’s downtown airport infrastructure, ”said Chris Curry, chairman of the Mobile Airport Authority.

The FAA has selected three airports to be eligible for grants to add civil aviation operations at old and current military airfields, adding system capacity and helping to reduce congestion at existing airports. Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas; Mobile Downtown Airport in Mobile, Alabama; and the Salina Regional Airport in Salina, Kan., will now be able to apply for airport improvement grants.

“The addition of civilian flights to these airports increases their role in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs in their communities,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“By working with local stakeholders, the Military Airport Program is an innovative and fiscally responsible way to help improve former military installations and make them an important economic driver for their communities. FAA Associate Airport Administrator Shannetta Griffin said.

The Military Airports Program provides funding as a reserve of the Airport Improvement Program to help increase civil aviation capacity at current or former military airports by funding projects such as surface parking lots, parks fuel, hangars, utility systems, access roads, freight buildings, and other aerodrome related infrastructure.

This is the first time that these three airports have participated in the program. The FAA will work with each airport to determine specific funding needs. Additional details on the three selected airports are included below:

• Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, a common-use general aviation airport, will participate in the program for five years. The FAA may be able to provide funds for the development of a building, parking lot, aircraft parking area, hangar, and connecting taxiways.
• Mobile Downtown Mobile Airport in Mobile, Alabama, a non-hub main airport located at the former Brookley Air Force Base, will also participate in the program for five years. The FAA may be able to provide funds for the construction of utilities, improved airport drainage, construction of a parking lot, and an apron reconstruction project.
• Salina Regional Airport in Salina, Kan., A main airport without a hub at the former Schilling Air Base, could receive funds to rehabilitate a fuel yard and parking lot. The airport will be on the program for four years.

With three new airports joining the program, seven airports are now eligible for MAP funding in fiscal year 2022. Airports already in the program are Tipton Airport in Odenton, Maryland; Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Killeen, Texas; Roswell International Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico; and Sawyer International Airport in Gwinn, Michigan.

The MAP allows the FAA to designate up to 15 military or joint-use airports to participate in each exercise. Three of the 15 airports can be general aviation airports and the remaining 12 must be commercial or relief airports. Selected airports are designated for a period of one to five years. Previously selected airports can reapply to the program.

The airports in this program have unique project eligibility rules to convert them to civil or joint use, thus increasing the capacity of the national airspace system to serve the flying public. Since 1991, the FAA has provided approximately $ 764 million to more than 35 airports under the program.

The FAA will announce the program’s next open application period at the end of 2022.