Airport Finance: Using Airport Grant Funds for Security Projects Has Affected Some Development Projects

摘要

The events of September 11, 2001, created several new challenges for the aviation industry in ensuring the safety and security of our national airport system. Chief among them is deciding to what extent Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funds should be used to finance the new security requirements at the nation's airports. Recognizing that a clear understanding of how AIP grant funds were awarded before and after September 11 is an important step in determining the future funding levels of AIP, the following questions are addressed in this report: How does the amount of AIP funding awarded to airports for security projects after the events of September 11, 2001, compare with the funds awarded for security projects before then; To what extent did the airport security projects that received AIP funding after the events of September 11, 2001, meet legislative and program eligibility requirements; How has the use of AIP funding for airport security projects after the events of September 11, 2001, affected AIP funding for other airport development projects.