FAA opens largest-ever grant window for small airport tower upgrades

Overview

Updated May 29

For decades, small and regional airports have relied on aging control towers from the 1960s and 1970s, receiving limited federal help for upgrades. On January 21, 2026, the FAA opened a grant window offering up to $120 million at 100% federal cost for tower reconstruction and remote tower construction.

It's the final and largest funding round of a five-year program created by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, six times the usual annual allocation. This surge comes from an unusual mechanism: $100 million in unspent funds from the program's first year automatically roll into the contract tower grant pool in the fifth year.

For the roughly 250 small-city and regional airports in the FAA's Contract Tower Program—which rely on private control towers—this creates a one-time opportunity to fund projects that previous $20 million rounds couldn't cover. The grant window explicitly includes remote tower construction, a technology already operational at dozens of European airports but not yet certified for use anywhere in the U.S.

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Key Indicators

$120M

Total FY2026 funding available

Six times the standard $20M annual allocation, due to $100M in unobligated FY2022 funds rolling over

100%

Federal cost share

No local matching funds required—rare for federal infrastructure grants

~250

Eligible airports

Airports in the FAA Contract Tower Program and Cost Share Program, mostly small-city and regional fields

U.S. certified remote towers

Despite a decade of pilots and Congressional mandates, no remote tower has been certified for operational use in the U.S.

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People Involved

Jesse Carriger

Manager, FAA Office of Airports IIJA Infrastructure Branch (APP-540)

Overseeing FY2026 FCT grant applications

Sean P. Duffy

United States Secretary of Transportation

Overseeing Department of Transportation programs including FAA grants

Organizations Involved

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Federal Agency

Administering final year of five-year IIJA tower grant program

The FAA regulates U.S. civil aviation, operates the national air traffic control system, and administers airport infrastructure grants.

Colorado Department of Transportation

State Agency

Advancing remote tower project at Northern Colorado Regional Airport

Colorado's transportation agency is backing the most advanced remaining U.S. remote tower project, at Northern Colorado Regional Airport near Fort Collins.

Timeline

August 1981 January 2026

11 events Latest: January 21st, 2026 · 7 months ago Showing 8 of 11

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January 2026
FAA Opens FY2026 Grant Round With $120 Million Available
Latest Grant Program

The FAA published the final-year Notice of Funding Opportunity with six times the usual funding—$20 million in new money plus $100 million in unspent FY2022 funds—at 100% federal cost share, with applications due February 17, 2026.
January 21st, 2026
February 2025
DOGE-Linked FAA Layoffs Raise Aviation Safety Concerns
Workforce

Approximately 400 FAA employees were laid off as part of federal workforce reductions, though air traffic controllers were exempted after intervention by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
February 1st, 2025
August 2024
FAA Opens FY2025 Grant Round
Grant Program

The fourth annual round made $20 million available, with applications due September 18, 2024. Awards funded 20 airport towers across 15 states.
August 22nd, 2024
May 2024
FAA Reauthorization Act Mandates Remote Tower Program
Legislation

Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which requires the FAA to create a formal remote tower approval program and expand testing beyond the FAA Technical Center to at least three airport sites.
May 16th, 2024
June 2023
FAA Ends Remote Tower Pilot at Leesburg, Virginia
Setback

After nearly a decade of testing, the FAA effectively terminated the remote tower pilot at Leesburg Executive Airport. Technology vendor Saab withdrew, and the airport pivoted to planning a conventional tower.
June 1st, 2023
March 2023
First Round Awards: 33 Grants to 29 Airports
Grant Award

The FAA selected 29 airports for $20 million in tower modernization grants, including projects ranging from new tower construction in Columbus, Indiana to lighting system replacements in Joplin, Missouri.
March 31st, 2023
November 2022
FAA Opens First Contract Tower Grant Round (FY2023)
Grant Program

The FAA published its first Notice of Funding Opportunity for the new program, making $20 million available for tower construction, rehabilitation, and equipment upgrades at eligible airports.
November 9th, 2022
November 2021
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Signed Into Law
Legislation

The bipartisan law allocated approximately $25 billion for the national airspace system, including $100 million over five years specifically for the new Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program—the first dedicated federal funding stream for airport-owned tower upgrades.
November 15th, 2021
April 2015
Sweden Approves World's First Operational Remote Tower
Technology

Sweden's air navigation service provider approved the first remote tower providing aerodrome air traffic services, launching a wave of European deployments that would eventually reach over 30 airports across Scandinavia, Norway, and the Netherlands.
April 1st, 2015
January 1982
FAA Launches Contract Tower Program at Five Airports
Policy

Born from the PATCO strike aftermath, the FAA began contracting private companies to staff control towers at low-activity airports. The program has since expanded to over 250 towers.
January 1st, 1982
August 1981
Reagan Fires 11,000 Striking Air Traffic Controllers
Origin

President Reagan fired over 11,000 striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), forcing the FAA to close 60 lower-activity towers and find alternative staffing models.
August 5th, 1981

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Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 1946

Federal-Aid Airport Program Launch (1946)

President Truman signed the Federal Airport Act, creating the first peacetime program of federal grants for civilian airport development. Twin Falls, Idaho received the first grant: $384,000 for initial development of what is now Magic Valley Regional Airport.

Then

The program funded basic runway and facility construction at hundreds of small airports that had served as military training fields during World War II.

Now

It established the principle—still in effect 80 years later—that the federal government has a role in funding infrastructure at airports too small to finance improvements on their own. The program evolved through several iterations into today's Airport Improvement Program.

Why this matters now

The FY2026 Contract Tower grant continues an 80-year federal tradition of investing in small airport infrastructure. The 100% federal cost share echoes the original program's recognition that rural and small-city airports cannot self-fund the safety infrastructure their communities depend on.

August 1981 – 1982

PATCO Strike and Birth of Contract Towers (1981–1982)

On August 3, 1981, nearly 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job. President Reagan fired 11,345 who refused to return within 48 hours. The FAA closed 60 low-activity towers and scrambled to staff the rest with supervisors, non-strikers, and military controllers.

Then

The FAA launched a pilot program contracting private companies to operate five of the shuttered towers, proving that competent air traffic control could be delivered outside the federal workforce.

Now

The Contract Tower Program expanded to over 250 airports and became the backbone of air traffic control at small and regional fields nationwide—the very airports now eligible for the FY2026 modernization grants.

Why this matters now

The FY2026 grant program is a direct descendant of the post-strike contract tower model. The infrastructure being modernized today—towers at small airports staffed by contractor employees—exists because of decisions made in the strike's aftermath 44 years ago.

April 2015 – December 2022

Scandinavian Remote Tower Rollout (2015–2022)

Sweden approved the world's first operational remote tower in 2015 at Örnsköldsvik Airport. Norway then deployed remote tower technology to 15 airports by late 2022, all controlled from a single center in Bodø. The Netherlands began implementing Saab-built remote systems for regional airports controlled from Amsterdam Schiphol.

Then

Scandinavian countries demonstrated that camera-based remote towers could safely replace physical towers at lower-traffic airports, often at a fraction of the construction and staffing cost.

Now

Remote towers became routine infrastructure in northern Europe. Over 30 airports now operate under remote control, creating a proven operational record that the FAA has studied but not yet replicated.

Why this matters now

The FY2026 grant program explicitly funds remote tower construction, but the U.S. has zero certified remote towers despite Europe's decade-long operational track record. The gap illustrates the regulatory—not technological—barrier that has kept American small airports dependent on conventional towers.