WW airport gets a slice of the federal pie

By Terry Murry on Thursday, June 24th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced more than $217 million in grants to 57 airports throughout the state of Washington Tuesday.

The Airport Rescue Grants program helps airports recover from losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $175 million is earmarked for Seattle-Tacoma International, $16 million is going to Spokane International, $5 million is for Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco and more than $1.2 million is for Walla Walla Regional.

Walla Walla Regional Airport Manager Jennifer Skoglund said that she believes that money will be added to other grants to help complete a long list of maintenance and improvement projects planned for the airport.

The funding provides economic relief to eligible commercial service, reliever, and general aviation airports. It requires that airports that serve a majority of the traveling public continue to employ at least 90 percent of their pre-pandemic employees.