Over the last 20 years, Laredo International Airport in Texas has secured $200 million in funding for a long list of projects—perhaps unexpected for a non-hub, primarily cargo airport. But the work is growing out of a specific approach to funding that is allowing the projects to get underway.
“We get $1.7 million a year in just entitlements, which means that money comes from the passenger activity and cargo activity,” explains Guillermo Villalobos, airport operations manager for Laredo International. “The funding level that we’re looking at actually requires quite a bit more federal funding, which comes from the discretionary pot from the [Federal Aviation Administration]. That’s the challenging part of it because to get all the money to do the projects we’ve done requires attention to a lot of detail.”