Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and 

Economic Security Act

(CARES Act)

Public Law 116-136

Airport Grants

April 2020
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 

(CARES) Act

• What are CARES Act provisions?

• Which airports are eligible?

• What expenditures are eligible?

• What are the CARES Act grant amount formulas?

• How to apply and execute a grant?

• How to request and process grant payments?

• What are the documentation and audit requirements?

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Airport Grants Overview 
CARES Act Airport Grants 

What are CARES Act provisions?

• March 27, 2020

• Nearly $10 billion to eligible U.S. airports to prevent, prepare for, and respond to 

coronavirus impacts, including support for continuing airport operations

• Funds available to:

• Keep airports in reliable, safe operation to serve the aviation industry, the 

travelling public, and support the economy

• Keep airport and aviation workers employed

• Keep airport credit ratings stable

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CARES Act Airport Grants

What are CARES Act provisions?

• Not Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants

• Appropriated from General Fund and not from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund

• FAA will award funds on expedited basis

• FAA encourages sponsors to spend funds expeditiously

• Workforce retention requirements for large, medium, and small hub airports

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CARES Act Airport Grants

Which airports are eligible?

• Eligible airports in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems 

(NPIAS), including commercial service airports, reliever airports and 

some public-owned general aviation airports 

• Over 3,000 airports, ranging from large airports such as Dallas Fort 

Worth International Airport to small general aviation airports such as 

Salem, Indiana

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CARES Act Airport Grants

What expenditures are eligible?

• Available for any purpose for which airport revenues may lawfully be used

• Generally available for expenditures allowed by the FAA’s Policy and 

Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue (Revenue-Use Policy)

• Additional requirements for new contracts for airport development, 

(construction or real property acquisition), such as safety and security, DavisBacon Act, Buy American, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

other specific requirements for new airport development under CARES Act

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CARES Act Airport Grants

How are funds allocated?

The CARES Act divides the $10 billion into four groups: 

• Group 1: Increasing the Federal Share to 100% for FY 2020 AIP and FY 2020 

Supplemental Discretionary grants – At least $500 million

• Group 2: Commercial Service Airports – At least $7.4 billion

• Group 3: Primary Commercial Airports – Up to $2 billion

• Group 4: General Aviation Airports – At least $100 million

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CARES Act Airport Grants

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 1 

• 100% Federal share for FY 2020 grants, including AIP 

grants already announced

• No change to grants funded under FY 2018 or FY 2019 

appropriation

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CARES Act Airport Grants

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 2

Grantee formula for commercial service airports:

• 50% based on each airport’s percentage of enplanements for all commercial service 

airport enplanements during calendar year 2018

• 25% based on each sponsor’s percentage of debt service* for the combined debt 

service for all commercial service airports for fiscal year 2018

• 25% based on the sponsor’s fiscal year 2018 ratio of unrestricted reserves* to its 

respective debt service

*As defined in AC 150/5100-19, Airport Financial Reporting Advisory Circular

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CARES Act Airport Grants

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 2

50% based on each airport’s percentage of enplanements for all commercial service 

airport enplanements during calendar year 2018

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Enplanements As % of Total Resulting Allocated Funds

Airport A 2,501 0.038064% $190,320

Airport B 8,000 0.121756% $608,782

Airport C 10,000 0.152195% $760,977

Airport D 50,000 0.760977% $3,804,885

Airport E 500,000 7.609770% $38,048,849

Airport F 1,000,000 15.219540% $76,097,698

Airport G 5,000,000 76.097698% $380,488,489

Totals 6,570,501 100% $500,000,000 Purely Illustrative Figure
CARES Act Airport Grants

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 2

25% based on each sponsor’s percentage of debt service for the combined debt 

service for all commercial service airports for fiscal year 2018

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Line 15.1

Debt Service,

Excluding Coverage

As % of Total Resulting Allocated Funds

Airport A $0 0% $0

Airport B $25,000 0.060790% $151,976

Airport C $100,000 0.243161% $607,903

Airport D $1,000,000 2.431611% $6,079,027

Airport E $5,000,000 12.158055% $30,395,137

Airport F $10,000,000 24.316109% $60,790,274

Airport G $25,000,000 60.790274% $151,975,684

Totals $41,125,000 100% $250,000,000 Purely Illustrative Figure
CARES Act Airport Grants

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 2

25% based on the sponsor’s fiscal year 2018 ratio of unrestricted reserves to its 

respective debt service

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Line 13.0 Line 15.1 

Unrestricted Cash 

and Investments

Debt service, 

excluding coverage

Calculated 

Ratio

Initial Resulting 

Allocation %

Resulting

Allocated Funds

Ratios Used in 

Allocation

Resulting 

Allocation %

Resulting

Allocated Funds

Airport A $0 $2,000,000 0.000000 0.000000% $0 0.000000 0.000000% $0

Airport B $400,000 $1,600,000 0.250000 0.070484% $211,453 0.250000 0.227919% $683,757

Airport C $800,000 $1,400,000 0.571429 0.161107% $483,322 0.571429 0.520958% $1,562,873

Airport D $1,600,000 $1,200,000 1.333333 0.375917% $1,127,751 1.333333 1.215568% $3,646,704

Airport E $3,200,000 $1,000,000 3.200000 0.902201% $2,706,603 3.200000 2.917363% $8,752,089

Airport F $6,400,000 $800,000 8.000000 2.255503% $6,766,508 8.000000 7.293408% $21,880,223

Airport G $12,800,000 $600,000 21.333333 6.014674% $18,044,023 21.333333 19.449087% $58,347,262

Airport H $25,600,000 $400,000 64.000000 18.044023% $54,132,068 25.000000 22.791899% $68,375,697

Airport I $51,200,000 $200,000 256.000000 72.176090% $216,528,271 25.000000 22.791899% $68,375,697

Airport J $10,000,000 $0 Cannot be calculated mathematically 25.000000 22.791899% $68,375,697

Totals $112,000,000 $9,200,000 354.688095 100.000000% $300,000,000 109.688095 100.000000% $300,000,000 purely illustrative figure

25% based on the sponsor’s fiscal year 2018 ratio of unrestricted reserves to its respective debt service

Capping these ratios at no more than 25.0 

prevents disproportionately high award levels.

Setting this otherwise incalculable ratio at the 

same level (25.0) supports statutory consistency.

Adding the ratios together creates an index for calculating 

the allocation %. Each individual ratio is compared 

against the total index to derive their percentage allocation 

from this portion of the available funds.

Line 13.0

Unrestricted Cash

and Investments

Line 15.1

Debt Service,

Excluding Coverage

Calculated

Ratio

Initial Resulting

Allocation %

Resulting

Allocated Funds

Ratios Used in

Allocation

Resulting

Allocation %

Resulting 

Allocated Funds

Purely Illustrative Figure
CARES Act Airport Grants 

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 3

• Allocation for large, medium, small and non-hub primary airports and nonprimary commercial service airports with 8,000 – 9,999 passenger boardings

• Based on statutory AIP primary apportionment formulas to include:

• Doubling of apportioned fund for primary airports only

• Exceptions include:

• No $26 million limit for primary airports

• No reduction for imposing passenger facility charges

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CARES Act Airport Grants

Funding Groups and Formula Development – GROUP 4 

• Available to GA airports based on a percentage of the aggregate 

eligible development of each GA category published in the National Plan 

of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) eligible development

• Funds divided evenly among eligible airports in each category, 

rounding up to the nearest thousand dollars

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CARES Act Airport Grants

How does an airport sponsor apply?

• No application for Federal share increase – FAA will adjust grant amounts

• Secretary announces amounts allocated to each airport sponsor under Groups 

2, 3, and 4

• Simplified application to claim these funds, OMB Form 424

• Grant Agreements will be issued in April 2020 and will not contain standard AIP 

grant assurances but contain CARES Act and standard Federal grant conditions

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CARES Act Airport Grants

What requirements apply to a CARES grant?

• CARES Act Airport Grant Agreements require:

• 2 CFR part 200

• Exclusive Rights prohibitions

• Title VI, Civil Rights

• For airport development projects, additional requirements such as:

• Prevailing wage 

• Buy American

• Veterans’ Preference

• Disadvantaged Business Enterprises

• Environmental review

• Other requirements to protect airport safety

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CARES Act Airport Grants

How to request and process payments?

• Reasonable and customary documentation for payroll, operational, and 

debt service costs

• Additional documentation for new airport development:

• construction, modifications, or real property acquisition

• Additional documentation for payments for: 

• Airfield installations, equipment, signage and markings

• Payments to sponsor’s non-airport accounts

• Grant payments requested under the CARES Act will be in accordance with 

2 CFR part 200

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CARES Act Airport Grants

Are there documentation and audit requirements?

• Sponsor and FAA accountability is imperative

• All payment requests require supporting documentation similar to the level 

of detail required for AIP grants

• Sponsors must retain complete records to support all grant payments

• Grants subject to audit to prevent improper payments

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Thank you

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Please visit

www.faa.gov/airports/cares_act/

for more information and continuous updates. 

Send general questions to

CARESAirports@faa.gov