Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced over $22.2 million in American Rescue Plan funding has been awarded to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) to provide economic relief for airport operations and concessions to address lost revenue due to the pandemic.
Higgins said, “These resources will support local jobs and allow Western New York airports to come back even stronger as we begin to return to pre-pandemic travel levels.”
“We are so grateful to Congressman Higgins who has successfully secured this badly needed local funding for our airports, this support is critical to our aviation operations,” said Kim Minkel, NFTA Executive Director. “With our passenger traffic down due to COVID coupled by the U.S. and Canadian border closure, the funding will ensure we can continue to provide aviation services to those traveling to and from Western New York and that our airports will be well positioned to play an important role in the communities post-pandemic economic recovery.”
Below is a summary of the funding awards released by the U.S. Department of Transportation today:
| Recipient | Purpose | Funding |
| Niagara Falls International Airport | Airport Economic Relief Provided through the American Rescue Plan | $2,016,356.00 |
| Niagara Falls International Airport | Relief Provided for Concession losses | $104,573.00 |
| Buffalo Niagara International Airport | Airport Economic Relief Provided through the American Rescue Plan | $18,037,049.00 |
| Buffalo Niagara International Airport | Relief Provided for Concession losses | $2,106,785.00 |
| Total for Niagara Falls Airport | $2,120,929.00 | |
| Total for Buffalo Airport | $20,143,834.00 | |
| Total Provided to Buffalo & Niagara Falls Airports Combined through the American Rescue Plan | $22,264,763.00 |
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) saw an 85 percent decrease in passenger traffic during the height of the pandemic. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint travel numbers show airport travel is beginning to return, following close to two years of drastically reduced travel related to the pandemic.
The American Rescue Plan, supported by Higgins and signed into law in March 2021, included $8 billion to help airports recover from the pandemic. The funding is intended to provide relief to keep airports open and operating, including the maintenance of airport-related employment.
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