Upstate New York Airports to Receive $63 Million from the FAA

My first experience of Albany, New York was the airport. I'd been hired, and asked to move within the week, which I was happy to do.

So, I packed my bags, hopped on a flight, and in a few short hours, I got my first look at New York's Capital City... 's airport. There was plenty of construction going on, promising new upgrades, but no change seemed to be made. Until now.

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FAA Grant

On June 30th, 2026, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced a new line of funding for New York's airports: The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airport Improvement Program and Airport Infrastructure Grant Program (say that five times fast).

Watching an airplane take off from a terminal

This program allocates federal funds to local and international airports, meant to be used to upgrade terminals, taxiways and airport signage. The hope is that these upgrades will boost tourism and travel to some of New York's lesser visited locations.

What Will the Capital Region Get?

In total, the FAA grant totals $63,692,917.00 to be divided across 31 airports. Of that, seven within the Capital Region will receive funding totalling $2,386,129.00.

The funding will be divided up as such:

• Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport: $783,902
  • Replacing existing snow removal equipment
• Columbia County Airport: $1,150,809
  • Replacing the existing automated weather observing system III ($698,107)
  • Reconstructing existing 14,172 square foot nonrevenue generating terminal parking lot at nonhub primary airport ($266,000)
  • Rehabilitating 5,200 feet of existing paved Taxiway A to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement and to minimize foreign object debris ($186,702)
• Albany International Airport: $219,150
  • Acquiring 3.6 acres of land to protect the approach to Runway 28, to bring the airport into conformity with current standards
• Schenectady County Airport: $189,428
  • Removing 12.5 acres of tree vegetation under the airport's wildlife hazard mitigation plan to enhance safety
• Saratoga County Airport: $42,840
  • Acquiring 3 easements to protect the approach to Runway 14 to bring the airport into conformity with current standards.