FY 2023 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Airport Improvement Program Supplemental Discretionary Grants | FAA ARP AIP G 24 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for FAA ARP AIP G 24 001

The FY 2023 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Supplemental Discretionary Grants is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) competitive grant program offering about $269 million in supplemental discretionary funding. It sits under the long-running AIP project grant authority, which is designed to help eligible airport owners and operators (commonly called "sponsors") plan, develop, and improve the national airport system. For this round, FAA is emphasizing that awards will be made in a way that stays consistent with standard AIP sponsor and project eligibility rules, while also supporting the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Strategic Framework for FY 2022-2026. The controlling document for this competition is the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFO) published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2024, and applicants are expected to follow the NOFO instructions exactly, since it contains the definitive requirements, evaluation approach, and submission process.

The opportunity is open to the kinds of public entities that typically sponsor AIP projects, including state governments, counties, cities or townships, special district governments, and other eligible sponsors recognized under AIP rules. The funding instrument is a grant, and the program is listed under CFDA 20.106. FAA anticipates making around 50 awards, with an award ceiling listed at up to $50,000,000 per award. Because this is discretionary and competitive, funding is not guaranteed for any applicant, and projects are compared against one another within FAA's priorities and eligibility rules.

A key threshold issue is readiness and ability to comply with federal grant requirements. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that the proposed project can meet all applicable grant conditions, including proper procurement practices (for example, appropriately soliciting and awarding construction bids consistent with federal requirements). FAA also requires applicants to be in a position to execute a grant no later than May 31, 2025, which effectively makes schedule realism and deliverability a central part of whether an application is credible. Even strong projects can be less competitive if the sponsor cannot show a clear path to timely procurement, contracting, and grant execution.

FAA will consider applications for AIP-eligible projects, but this NOFO places special emphasis on three Priority Project Categories: (1) Airfield Operational Resiliency (AOR), (2) Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and (3) Emissions and Energy improvements (EE). In practical terms, this means FAA intends to direct the limited supplemental funding first toward projects that clearly fit into these categories, and only after those priority decisions are made will FAA consider funding for other projects that are generally eligible under AIP. The announcement also flags that funds are limited overall and especially constrained for small hub, nonhub, and nonprimary airports, so applicants in those groups should pay close attention to the NOFO details and be prepared to clearly justify why their projects rise to the top within the competitive pool.

Category 1, Airfield Operational Resiliency, focuses on strengthening airfield infrastructure that is at risk and improving the ability of airports to maintain safe operations under stressors such as extreme weather, flooding, heat impacts, or other conditions that threaten performance and safety. FAA frames this category around protecting or improving the resiliency of airfield systems while preserving or advancing airfield safety standards or operational safety. Projects in this lane generally need to show that resiliency gains do not come at the expense of safety and that they meaningfully reduce operational disruption or infrastructure vulnerability.

Category 2, Sustainable Aviation Fuel, is narrower in terms of who can apply and what can be funded. FAA indicates it may award grants to primary airports specifically for airport-owned infrastructure needed for on-airport distribution, blending, or storage of SAF. A central eligibility feature here is the emissions performance requirement: the sustainable aviation fuel supported by the infrastructure must achieve at least a 50 percent reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, using a methodology determined by the Secretary of Transportation. Applicants considering this category should be prepared to connect the proposed infrastructure to a credible SAF supply and handling concept that meets the lifecycle threshold described.

Category 3, Emissions and Energy, is broader and is broken into seven subcategories that signal what FAA is most interested in supporting. These include expanded emissions eligibility; improving the energy efficiency of airport power sources; strengthening energy supply, redundancy, and microgrids; airport sustainability planning; zero emissions vehicles; reducing impacts of lead emissions from aviation fuel; and other AIP-eligible projects that increase efficiency. This category is essentially the umbrella for projects that reduce emissions, improve energy performance, increase resiliency of airport power and fueling-related systems, and help airports plan and implement sustainability measures. The inclusion of planning as a subcategory also suggests FAA recognizes that some airports may need strong plans and analyses to support future capital improvements, though applicants still need to ensure the specific planning activity is eligible and competitive under AIP and the NOFO.

The submission deadline for applications is May 2, 2024, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. FAA notes that applicants will receive a one-time notification confirming receipt of application materials; if an applicant submits additional or subsequent materials, those later submissions will not receive a receipt notification. FAA also makes clear that it will not provide status updates during the review period, and applicants should expect to wait until all reviews are completed before hearing anything further. Awards are anticipated within 90 days after the application deadline, although actual timing can depend on the volume of applications, the complexity of reviews, and final funding availability.

Overall, this NOFO is best understood as a targeted, competitive injection of AIP discretionary funding focused on safety-supporting resiliency work, near-term SAF enabling infrastructure at primary airports, and emissions and energy improvements that help airports modernize operations and reduce environmental impacts. Success in this competition depends heavily on strict compliance with the NOFO, clear alignment with one of the priority categories (or a compelling case under general AIP eligibility after priority selections), and a realistic plan to procure, deliver, and execute the grant within the FAA's required timeframe.

• The DOT Federal Aviation Administration in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2023 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Airport Improvement Program Supplemental Discretionary Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.106.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $50,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Others.

Apply for FAA ARP AIP G 24 001

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