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HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $20M FOR AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS AT MISS. AIRPORTS
Two Dozen Mississippi Airports Will Receive Funds for Infrastructure, Safety Upgrades
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, today reported that 24 municipal airfields in Mississippi have been awarded just over $20 million for facility improvements.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the third round of FY2026 Airport Improvement Program grants, which meet Airport Safety and Resilient Infrastructure Development (ASRID) eligibility and prioritization criteria requirements.
“Local airports play a critical role in supporting jobs and economic development, which is why they must regularly invest in rehabilitation, construction, and safety improvement projects. These FAA awards will help large and small communities in Mississippi enhance the safety, efficiency, and operation of their airport facilities,” Hyde-Smith said.
ASRID supplemental funds were provided in the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Public Law 119-4).
The AIP grants approved for the 24 Mississippi airports include:
- Tunica Municipal Airport – $6,788,600 total ($6.5 million discretionary/$288,600 AIP) to rehabilitate an existing runway
- George M. Bryan Airport, Starkville – $4,250,000 to extend an existing runway and taxiway
- Greenville Mid-Delta Airport – $1,795,310 to support the final phase of Taxiway B rehabilitation
- Golden Triangle Regional Airport – $1,146,555 total from three grants: $804,555 to reseal terminal apron pavement; $190,000 to support continued land acquisition for future eligible development; and $152,000 to support the purchase of aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment, security cameras, and wildlife hazard mitigation activities
- Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport – $1,048,653 to reseal 8,500 feet of Runway 16L/34R
- New Albany/Union County Airport – $609,000 to expand an existing terminal apron
- Hesler/Noble Field, Laurel – $542,614 to extend Runway 13/31
- Pontotoc County Airport – $541,285 to support runway expansion and terminal apron rehabilitation
- Monroe County Airport – $530,000 to extend Taxiway A
- Okolona Municipal Airport-Richard Stovall Field – $504,000 to rehabilitate the terminal access road, as well as to rehabilitate hangar access and main apron pavement
- Brookhaven-Lincoln County Airport – $491,625 to improve safety compliance by removing trees identified by the FAA as obstructions
- Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport – $369,175 to reconstruct taxiway lighting and rehabilitate runway lighting
- Columbus-Lowndes County Airport – $324,068 to acquire and install an automated weather observing system
- Winona-Montgomery County Airport – $307,680 to construct a new 5,000-square-foot hangar for aircraft storage/maintenance
- James H. Easom Field, Newton – $300,000 to reseal portions of a runway, main apron, and taxiway
- Calhoun County Airport – $208,000 to construct a 3,600-square-foot hangar for aircraft storage
- Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport – $150,000 to support the installation of new airfield signals
- Houston Municipal Airport – $150,000 to improve safety compliance by removing trees identified by the FAA as obstructions
- Magee Municipal Airport – $150,000 to rehabilitate the existing airport rotating beacon
- McComb/Pike County Airport/John E. Lewis Field – $150,000 to support rehabilitation of a runway and taxiway
- Poplarville/Pearl River County Airport – $141,276 to purchase navigational aids and reseal taxilane pavement.
- Belzoni Municipal Airport – $103,835 to construct a new 278-square-foot helicopter parking apron
- Waynesboro Municipal Airport – $98,848 to update the airport layout plan with a master plan narrative
- Louisville/Winston County Airport – $30,000 to finalize an airport layout plan with a master plan narrative
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