As Congress prepares to reauthorize aviation programs next year, there are plenty of airport projects on tap that can use federal funds. A new Federal Aviation Administration report estimates airports will have $41.2 billion in infrastructure work eligible for federal aid over the next five years. That total in the study, the latest update of FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, represents a moderate 4% gain over the estimate in the report issued in 2004, and 11% below the 2002 study's $46.2 billion, which reflected pre-9/11 data.
Michael Steer, director of air transportation for engineering firm URS, says he's not surprised at the FAA's findings. He says that although passenger traffic has rebounded since the 2001 terrorist attacks, "There still seems to be the lack of urgency that was there in the late '90s" for airports to add capacity. "They've just been a little more cautious," Steer says.