Several Bay Area airports were awarded millions in federal grant funding recently for infrastructure improvement projects, made possible by awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration.
California received $168 million for airports across the state, while the cities of Hayward, Monterey, Oakland, Palo Alto, Petaluma, San Carlos, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Tracy will receive a collective $64 million from the FAA for projects to their runways, taxiways, and more.
The agency’s Airport Improvement Program funds airport infrastructure projects such as runways, taxiways, airport signage, airport lighting, and airport markings. Airports are entitled to a certain amount of funding each year, based on passenger volume.
California’s senators applauded the appropriated funds announced Sept. 16 for airports in their home state and talked about how important modern infrastructure at transportation hubs were to keep the state running.
“From large international hubs to the hundreds of small regional or local airports, the Golden State’s airports play an essential role in helping millions of Californians and visitors alike get where they need to go,” said U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla in a written statement. “This tranche of more than $168 million in federal aviation funding will modernize our airport infrastructure to create a safer, smoother passenger experience while creating good-paying jobs and investing in low-emission equipment.”
“This federal funding will make a critical investment in California’s airports, improving their safety and modernizing their infrastructure, while creating more jobs in communities across the Golden State,” U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff said in the same statement.
Five of the region’s commercial airports had a collective 73,847,719 passengers transit through their facilities in 2024. While Bay Area air travel is slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, airport officials are pleased with the announcement of funds that will help prepare their sites for the future.
“Since being established in 1982, (Airport Improvement Program) funding has become an important resource for U.S. airports to enhance safety, security, and sustainability. Airports are critical infrastructure for the region they serve, and AIP funding ensures they are well-maintained and functional,” said San Francisco International Airport spokesman Doug Yakel in an emailed statement.
According to Jon Stout, manager of Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport, funds will be used for environmental mitigation efforts, reconstruction projects, and preventative measures.
“These grants are very important for the (airport) as they will allow the continuation of already started projects to move forward,” said Stout.
Monterey’s airport was the largest single recipient in California, and its funding will be used to construct a new passenger terminal.
Besides commercial airports, Petaluma’s small recreational airport is also receiving funds to upgrade their facilities. The airport’s manager, Dan Cohen, said the funding is vital to maintain their infrastructure to FAA specifications.
“By taking some of the long-term infrastructure costs, the FAA frees up many federally obligated small airports to cover their annual operating expenses with hangar rents, aircraft fees, and not become a tax burden on local residents,” said Cohen. “The airport staff are very grateful to our federal aviation partnerships and are excited to put 100% of the allocated funds towards our shovel ready Taxiway and Taxilane projects.”
Shouldn’t this be paid with airport fees than federal government borrowing?
…. none for Buchanan? …. they’ve had a lot of air traffic
A , a significant portion of the money for California airport upgrades in 2025 is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as Biden’s infrastructure bill.
Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Recent examples of 2025 California awards
The fact is that airports simply couldn’t sustain themselves without Federal money, just like roads couldn’t be built – and both are drivers of economic growth. There is a case to be made for taking them out of local government hands and creating more autonomous airport authorities or privatizing them altogether … cities and counties tend to neglect the smaller airports and use bigger ones like ATMs.