WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today praised the award of $4.5 million in Federal Aviation Administration Airport Terminal Program (ATP) grants to George M. Bryan (STF) Airport in Starkville.

“The George M. Bryan airport is the ‘front door’ of the city to over 10,000 visitors annually, but a lack of a modern passenger facility has limited economic development. This major investment will provide a central location for passengers while also increasing safety, security, and efficiency for this growing airport,” Wicker said.  

The grant will go toward constructing a new, 9,850 square foot passenger terminal for charter and business aircraft. Today, passengers get processed in the corner of a shared hangar. In the future, the proposed facility will provide the full range of passenger services available at most regional airports. That new facility would also provide a central location for passengers to go through security. These improvements will serve the large number of sports charter aircraft carrying athletes, fans, and their baggage to nearby Mississippi State University. The construction project, and the better facilities that result, will also provide local communities more access to transportation and well-paying jobs.

ATP was created as a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which Senator Wicker supported. The purpose of the ATP is to make annual grants available to eligible airports for terminal development, on-airport rail access, and airport-owned airport traffic control tower projects that address the aging infrastructure of the nation's airports.