March 16, 2021

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $2 Million for Quad City International Airport

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $2,750,066 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration to Quad City International Airport to help the airport with COVID-19-related expenses.

“Our Illinois airports are an important economic engine for the region, and making sure they continue to have the support they need to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical,” Duckworth said. “I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in announcing this infusion of federal funding, and I’ll keep working to ensure our airports and transportation systems have the funding and support necessary throughout this pandemic and beyond.”\

“This federal grant will help Quad City International Airport weather the devastating economic effects of COVID-19 and ensure that air travel is as safe as possible for passengers and employees,” Durbin said. “After facing unprecedented declines in travel last year, Senator Duckworth and I will continue working to provide federal relief to support workers and keep our transportation systems operating.”

“As a facility that supports nearly 500 jobs, nearly 100 of which are employed directly by the Metropolitan Airport Authority (MAA), this funding ensures that we can continue to provide the level of service that we are known for while keeping the MAA workforce fully intact,” said Benjamin Leischner, Quad City International Airport executive director. “I want to thank our elected officials here in Illinois and at the federal level for their support of the transportation sector. Air travel is critical to our country’s infrastructure and here locally, the airport’s economic impact is more than $500 million per year. This exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled.”

This funding comes from the Coronavirus Relief and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020 to help airports with COVID-19 costs related to operations, personnel, cleaning, sanitization, janitorial services, debt service payments and combating the spread of pathogens at the airport.

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