FAA awards Massena International Airport $459K grant for lighting, visual guidance improvements

MASSENA, N.Y. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Massena International Airport a grant of nearly $459,000.

The airport is also known as Richards Field, according to its website.

The facility will use the funding to complete the final phase of a project to rehabilitate the lighting systems for multiple runways and taxiways, Sens. Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) said in a news release that Schumer’s office issued.

The funding will also help pay for the replacement of an “outdated, precision” approach-path indicator system, and a replacement runway-end identifier lights system.

That equipment will “ensure the utmost” safety of airfield operations at the airport, “especially in times of low visibility and poor weather conditions.”

“This federal funding will allow the Massena International-Richards Field Airport to finish critical renovations to their runways, specifically their lighting and visual guidance systems,” Schumer said in the release.

“On behalf of the town of Massena and the town council, I would like to express our appreciation for this federal assistance. Without the funding, we would not be able to further modernize our airport,” Massena Town Supervisor Joseph Gray said.

The FAA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). This funding is awarded through the airport improvement program (AIP), which the FAA administers, the lawmakers said.

The AIP provides grants to public agencies for the planning and development of public-use airports that are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS). Funds obligated for the AIP are drawn from the Airport and Airway Trust fund, which user fees, fuel taxes, and other similar revenue sources support.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com