HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $17.3 MILLION TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AT NINE MISS. AIRPORTS

HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $17.3 MILLION TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AT NINE MISS. AIRPORTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced that nine municipal airfields in Mississippi have been awarded more than $17.3 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funding.

The 10 grants for Mississippi are among the Round 4 announcement of FY2026 AIP grants approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The awards meet the Airport Safety and Resilient Infrastructure Development (ASRID) eligibility and prioritization criteria.

"Airport Improvement Program grants will allow more Mississippi airfields to maintain and improve their facilities, and to bring them into compliance with current safety standards. All this work is increasingly important as our state acts to attract more jobs and economic development," Hyde-Smith said.

ASRID supplemental funds were provided in the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Public Law 119-4). Some AIP-funded construction projects will also be supported through separate airport infrastructure and terminal grant programs.

The 10 AIP grants approved for Mississippi include:

• Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Gulfport - $4,442,376 to acquire airfield pavement sweeper equipment, rehabilitate terminal apron and runway pavement, install a new airport rotating beacon, continue terminal apron pavement reconstruction, and replace the airfield lighting control and monitoring system
• Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Gulfport - $3,998,989 to extend Runway 36 and reconfigure Taxiway J connectors.
• Bruce Campbell Field, Madison - $3,972,510 ($3.7 million discretionary/$272,510 AIP) to continue runway rehabilitation.
• C.A. Moore Airport, Lexington - $1,550,000 ($950,000 discretionary/$600,000 AIP) to rehabilitate an existing runway.
• Key Field, Meridian - $1,289,688 to rehabilitate runway and taxiway pavement markings, reconstruct existing storm sewer infrastructure in runway safety area, and rehabilitate runway lighting.
• Ruleville-Drew Airport, Sunflower County - $972,175 to support construction of a new paved taxiway.
• Hardy-Anders Field, Natchez - $500,780 to support construction of a new 10,000-square-foot terminal to accommodate passengers.
• Clark County Airport, Quitman - $361,881 to reconstruct runway and taxiway lighting, and to install a precision approach path indicator.
• Dean Griffin Memorial Airport, Wiggins - $150,000 to support the acquisition of easement and property to protect the approach to Runway 17.
• Paul Pittman Memorial Airport, Walthall - $80,153 to construct an aircraft maintenance hangar.

In May, Hyde-Smith reviewed Round 3 AIP grants for Mississippi, which amounted to just over $20 million for work at 24 airports in the state.

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