Airport funding may be grounded by budget shortfall

The state budget may include no funding for Iowa’s small airports. A bill in a transportation appropriations committee has zero funding for aviation infrastructure, compared with last year’s two million in funding for repairs and upkeep, things like runway lighting, taxiway construction, navigation aids and buying up land around airports. State D-O-T aviation director Michelle McEnany says many small towns depend on general-aviation airports even though they don’t offer scheduled airline service, because private pilots, crop dusters, cargo and charter flights contribute heavily to local business and industry. A measure to be voted out of committee next week so far has been stripped of that aviation funding.