Hancock International, North Country airports get funding for equipment

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport a federal grant of $720,000 to buy snow-removal equipment.

North Country airports in Watertown, Potsdam, Malone, and Plattsburgh will also use federal grants for upgrades.

Hancock Airport will use its funding to purchase “critical” snow-removal equipment, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) said in a news release that Schumer’s office released Tuesday.

The new equipment will enable Hancock to keep the airport “serviceable” during snow periods and help in the “efficiency and safety” of operations, the lawmakers added.

In addition, the Watertown International Airport will use more than $91,000 to conduct a pavement-management program study, Schumer and Gillibrand said in a June 29 news release announcing the grants.

The effort will evaluate current pavement conditions and identify areas for maintenance.

“Maintaining and inspecting airfield pavements is an everyday job. This grant will help with our pavement-maintenance program and ensure the pavement remains in serviceable condition for years to come through targeted preventive maintenance,” Grant Sussey, manager at the Watertown International Airport, said in the lawmakers’ release.

In addition, the Potsdam Municipal/Damon Field Airport in St. Lawrence County will utilize more than $212,000 to purchase “vital” equipment needed for snow removal during the winter months.

The FAA also awarded Malone-Dufort Airport in Franklin County a grant of nearly $435,000 to reconstruct 5,000 square yards of the airport’s aircraft-parking apron pavement, which has reached the end of its useful life, the senators said.

The Plattsburgh International Airport in Clinton County will use $47,500 to design new perimeter fencing and make other security enhancements on its premises.

The FAA administers the airport-improvement program (AIP), which awarded the funding to all the airports.

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. 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.

“Keeping our airports in top-notch shape is crucial to attracting business and tourism to the region,” Schumer said. “This federal funding will allow four vital North Country airports to make critical infrastructure upgrades that will enable safer, more efficient service for the passengers and pilots who fly in and out of the region every day.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com