Bill to make airports resilient to severe weather introduced by Hawaiʻi Sen. Schatz

U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Ted Budd (R-NC) have introduced a bipartisan bill to improve infrastructure at airports nationwide, making them more resilient to severe weather and natural disasters.

The bill called the Natural Hazard Resilience for Airports Act of 2023 would expand the eligible uses of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, which currently provides billions in federal funding and covers improvements that would help airports become more resilient to severe weather.

The senators stressed the need for more federal resources to better adapt airports in the face of more frequent and severe storms and sea level rise.

By giving airports added flexibility to use existing Airport Improvement Program funding to prepare for and rebuild following severe weather events, the proposed legislation aims to help facilities recover quickly from storm damage.