Paine Field gets $5M grant to remedy a CARES Act oversight
EVERETT —Paine Field airport will receive a $5 million federal improvement grant this fall. It’s part of a limited distribution that corrects an oversight that shortchanged the Snohomish County-owned airport out of millions of dollars of pandemic relief last spring.
The grant will be used to replace a worn taxiway that connects the airport’s main runway to the general aviation runway, airport officials said Monday.
In April, Paine Field received $157,000 in government aid from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a stimulus program that included $10 billion for airports.
The funding formula was based, in part, on how many passengers an airport served in 2018. Because airline service didn’t begin at Paine Field until March 2019, the airport received far less than similar-sized airports across the state. Bellingham International Airport, for example, received $5 million.
In the aftermath, Washington Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene were among those that lobbied the Federal Aviation Administration for additional airport funding.
https://www.heraldnet.com/business/paine-field-gets-5m-grant-to-remedy-a-cares-act-oversight/
