More than $1 million in grant monies has been allocated for the Block Island State Airport as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, but according to a Rhode Island Airport Corporation spokesperson said the monies will likely be allocated for continued operations at the airport rather than be put towards any capital improvement project.
When asked by The Block Island Times what, if any projects had been identified for the grant funds, RIAC spokesman John Goodman said, “While it is too soon to say what investments may or may not be made in any given public airport in Rhode Island, it is worth noting that in FY 2020 Block Island Airport operations and debt service require an annual subsidy of $844,800, requiring that the top priority for federal funding be the continued operations of the airport.”
Island, as well as the state’s five other airports would be receiving more than $24 million in relief. The majority of that funding, at almost $22 million, was slated for T.F. Greene in Warwick. Westerly Airport is slated to receive $1,072,803.
Goodman said “the allocations made under the CARES Act are intended for airport operations and/or
