SLO County airport gets $20 million federal grant as air travel plummets
The San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport has received a $20 million stimulus grant to help it recover from lost revenues due to a massive decline in air travel.
The funding comes as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (C.A.R.E.S.) Act Airport Grant Program.
The airport has seen a 90% drop in passengers since state and county shelter-at-home orders were put in place in mid-March.
The C.A.R.E.S. Act will provide $10 billion in grants to airports across the country to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus impacts, including support for continuing airport operations,” San Luis Obispo airport officials said in a news release.
“We are tremendously appreciative of the (U.S.) Department of Transportation for helping the San Luis Obispo airport to continue to serve our community during this pandemic,” said Kevin Bumen, San Luis Obispo’s director of airports. “The airport is an essential service provider and also a major economic engine for the region.”
“This grant funding ensures we’ll be able to operate during the crisis and be there for our passengers when the travel industry recovers,” he said in the release.
The funds are available for airport capital expenditures and operating expenses including payroll and utilities, as well as debt payments.
The $20 million was allocated using a formula that factored in the airport’s 2018 outbound passengers, debt service, and ratio of unrestricted cash reserves in relation to its debt service. Statewide, 188 airports will receive a total of nearly $1.1 billion.
Contour Airlines pulled out of the San Luis Obispo market after launching direct plane flights to Las Vegas in October 2019.
Citing reduced travel nationwide, and the disruption in air travel brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, its last day of operations at the SLO airport was March 30.
Santa Barbara airport travel also down
At the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, travel is down 95% with four major airlines serving Santa Barbara — American, United, Alaska and Delta — maintaining required minimal service in order to qualify for bailout funds under the federal CARES Act, an airport official told Noozhawk.com.
Alaska Airlines has modified its service between Santa Barbara and Seattle by combining it with flights to and from the San Luis Obispo Regional Airport.
That means that flights depart from Santa Barbara, then stop in San Luis Obispo and continue on to Seattle, Noozhawk said. Planes headed to Santa Barbara also make a stop in San Luis Obispo after leaving from Seattle.
More details about the CARES Act Airport Grant Program, including the DOT funding formula and grant provisions, go to www.faa.gov/airports/cares_act.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 1:51 PM.
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