WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., today announced that the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, near the intersection of Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha Counties, Miss., has received a federal grant for more than $1 million to increase passenger safety.

The grant, totaling $1,063,485, was provided through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program. It will allow the Golden Triangle Regional Airport Authority to rehabilitate the airport’s apron, which is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, loaded, and boarded.

“This federal investment represents a continued commitment to improving the existing airport infrastructure at Golden Triangle,” Wicker said. “These enhancements, along with the construction of a third new industrial park, highlight the tremendous economic progress being made in the area.”

“The Golden Triangle Regional Airport is an important asset for an area that is growing as a hub for technology, research and manufacturing. I am pleased that local authorities will have these resources to improve the efficiency of this airport,” Cochran said.

Wicker serves a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which last spring drafted a new FAA reform bill that expands the Airport Improvement Program. The legislation was enacted into law in July.

Cochran chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, which in May approved the FY2017 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill. This measure provides $3.35 billion from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to continue support for the Airport Improvement Program. Many Mississippi airports benefit from this program, which is designed to help facilities meet FAA operations and safety standards.