Mrs Elaine Chao
The United States of America Secretary of Transportation, Mrs Elaine Chao, has announced that the President Donald Trump’s government would award more than $1.2 billion in airport safety and infrastructure grants through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to 405 airports in 50 states and the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Palau, and the US Virgin Islands.
She said, “This $1.2 billion federal investment will improve our nation’s airport infrastructure, enhance safety, and strengthen growth in local communities, which is especially important as the economy recovers from coronavirus (COVID-19).”
A complete listing of grants and an interactive map of airports receiving funding as detailed on the FAA website shows that the total includes over $1 billion from the Airport Improvement Programme (AIP) and $152 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grants to equal a 100 percent federal share.
The US remains one of the worst hit countries in the world that has suffered the devastating effect of COVID-19. Since December 31, 2019 up till September 11, 2020, 28 199 791 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) have been reported, including 910 078 deaths. Of this figure, the United States alone accounts for 6 397 227.
