NORFOLK, Va. — Hampton Roads airports will receive millions in federal aid to keep the airports operational as revenues plummet due to coronavirus impacts and stay-at-home orders.
The CARES Act appropriates $10 billion in economic relief funds for airports affected by the pandemic.
The Federal Aviation Administration says about $24 million in federal aid will be distributed to Hampton Roads airports, including $19.85 million for Norfolk International Airport and $4.14 million for Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.
Steven Sterling, a deputy executive director for the Norfolk Airport Authority, said about $4 to $6 million of the federal aid will be used for debt service, with a majority of those funds going to salaries and benefits of critical airport staff.
“We feel like this will enable us to maintain our operations as expected and maintain our employees as well," Sterling said. "We must remain open."
Sterling said administration, police and fire, and departments like operations, maintenance, janitorial and parking will be prioritized.
“These are the departments that actually maintain the facility at the airport," he said.
The Norfolk International Airport reports a 49 percent decrease in passenger travel for the month of March. However, Sterling said many people were still traveling in early March and he expects this reduction to look much worse for April and May.
“We’re prepared to see something close to 80 or 90 percent," Sterling said.
Sterling said airport revenue is falling fast as passengers stay home.
“The greater the utilization of the airport, the greater our revenue, but when the utilization dwindles down to close to zero -- a lot of the significant revenue sources disappear as well," he said.
This federal aid could be available as early as next week and is eligible to be backdated to late January to help with employee pay.