FAA Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the FAA Contract Tower (FCT) program provides $100 million and up to $600 million to modernize airport traffic control towers. These funds will allow airports to sustain, construct, repair, improve, rehabilitate, modernize, replace, or relocate non-approach control towers; acquire and install air traffic control, communications, and related equipment to be used in those towers; and construct a remote tower certified by the FAA.
In addition to the $20 million annual allocation, in FY 2026, any funds made available in a given fiscal year that remain unobligated at the end of the fourth fiscal year shall be made available, with the first $100 million going towards the Federal Contract Tower program, each year. Funds exceeding $100 million will become available under the AIG Funding Reallocation (AFR) program.
For FY2025, another $20 million has been made available. Here's what it will do.
This next round of funding will support the FAA Contract Tower program, which will upgrade and build control towers around the nation to include many small towns and municipal airports.
This interactive map shows how these funds are being invested.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are currently 179 airports within the contract airport traffic control tower program that are eligible for this funding.
View a list of airports eligible for the FAA Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program as of October 2024.
The Fiscal Year 2025 application period is now closed; however, during the open application period, the following would apply:
- Read the Notice of Funding Opportunity to learn about the program and the terms and conditions of the grant awards.
- Ensure you’re registered with System for Award Management (SAM) and you have a unique entity identifier. You must continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information while the FAA is reviewing your application.
- Complete and submit FAA Form 5100-144, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Airport Terminal and Tower Project Information, in its entirety including the tower only section. Instructions are included with the form.
- The form must be submitted electronically. Save your work as you complete the application and save a copy to your files for future reference. Use the "Submit" button at the bottom of the form when complete and it will be automatically emailed to the FAA IIJA team. You may also email the form manually to: IIJAAirports@faa.gov.
- The application period for the FY 2025 program closed on September 18, 2024.
Applicants will be notified either in writing or electronically. The Secretary of Transportation will also announce a Notice of Intent to fund selected projects.
Applicants selected to receive a FAA Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program grant will then be required to follow AIP grant application procedures prior to award, which include meeting all prerequisites for funding, and submission of Standard Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance, and FAA Form 5100-100, Application for Development Projects.
Direct all inquiries about applications to the appropriate Regional Office (RO), Airports District Office (ADO) or State Agency for Airports covered under the FAA State Block Grant Program (SBGP) or contact the FAA IIJA Team at IIJAAirports@faa.gov.
- FCT Grant Status List (data as of 10/1/2024; revised 2/14/2025)
