Clinton National Airport receives $4.9 million from FAA

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock will receive a $4.9 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to improve a runway safety area. On Tuesday (Oct. 3), U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Arkansas), U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-Little Rock) announced the grant.

“This investment will strengthen the airport’s infrastructure while supporting economic development in the state,” Boozman said. “Improvements to Little Rock’s airport will enhance the facility and empower the airport management team as it seeks to meet the needs of travelers within and to our state.”

The airport is “one of the major gateways” to the state, and the grant “will support important improvements that will go a long way in ensuring the safety of our state’s travelers,” Cotton said.

As the largest airport in the state, it “moves over 1 million passengers every year and is instrumental in growing our economy in Little Rock and throughout our entire state,” Hill said. The grant will allow the airport to not only improve safety but also efficiency for passengers.

Between January and August, enplanements, which represents the passengers flying out, have risen 2.65% to 677,924, from the same period in 2016, at Clinton National Airport. In 2016, enplanements rose 0.42% to 996,897, from 922,712 in 2015. The past two years were the first two years since 1991 that enplanements were less than 1 million.