Airport grant assurance requirements are the binding conditions an airport sponsor accepts in exchange for federal money under the Airport Improvement Program. They come from 49 U.S.C. 47107 and related statutes, and the FAA currently uses a standardized set of 39 assurances covering public access, revenue use, non-discrimination, land use, procurement, and financial reporting.1Federal Aviation Administration. Airport Sponsor Assurances They are contractual, they are enforced, and some of them never expire.
How Long the Obligations Last
Duration depends on the assurance. Obligations tied to physical improvements generally run for the useful life of the facility. For a privately owned public-use airport, the promise to stay open to the public runs at least as long as the economic life of any federally funded facility, and never less than ten years.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 47107 – Project Grant Application Approval Conditioned on Assurances About Airport Operations
Two obligations never expire. The prohibition on exclusive rights and the prohibition on revenue diversion remain in force as long as the property is used as an airport.1Federal Aviation Administration. Airport Sponsor Assurances Accepting a single AIP grant can therefore create commitments that outlast the officials who signed the paperwork.
Public Access and Fair Treatment
The core promise is that the airport stays open for public use on reasonable terms without unjust discrimination. A federally obligated airport cannot arbitrarily deny access to an airline or a general aviation operator absent a legitimate safety or operational reason. Air carriers making similar use of the airport must face substantially comparable charges and conditions, though the statute allows reasonable distinctions between tenants and nontenants, or between signatory and nonsignatory carriers.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 47107 – Project Grant Application Approval Conditioned on Assurances About Airport Operations
The sponsor must also keep the airport maintained and operational, taking local climate and flood conditions into account. Closing the airport temporarily for a non-aviation purpose requires FAA approval first.
Fees the airport charges aeronautical users must be fair, reasonable, and not unjustly discriminatory. The FAA does not set specific rates; it adjudicates disputes and issues guidance through the Rates and Charges Policy.3Federal Aviation Administration. Compliance Chapter 18 – Airport Rates and Charges The reasonableness standard covers aeronautical charges like landing fees and hangar rents, not nonaeronautical revenue such as parking, rental cars, or terminal concessions.
No Exclusive Rights
A federally obligated airport cannot give any single provider of aeronautical services an exclusive right to operate there. That prohibition covers fueling, maintenance, flight training, hangar rental, and similar services.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 47107 – Project Grant Application Approval Conditioned on Assurances About Airport Operations
One narrow exception applies. A single fixed-base operator is not treated as holding an exclusive right if adding a second FBO would be unreasonably costly or impractical, and doing so would require reducing space already leased to the first. FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-6 explains how the prohibition works in practice.4Federal Aviation Administration. AC 150/5190-6 – Exclusive Rights at Federally-Obligated Airports
Air carriers keep the right to self-service. An airline can perform its own fueling, maintenance, and ground handling, or choose any FBO the airport allows. The airport operator cannot compel an airline to use a particular service provider.
Where Airport Revenue Can Go
Revenue diversion is the violation the FAA takes most seriously. Under 49 U.S.C. 47107(b), all revenue generated by a public airport, including local aviation fuel taxes, must be spent on the airport’s capital or operating costs, the local airport system, or facilities directly and substantially related to air transportation.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 47107 – Project Grant Application Approval Conditioned on Assurances About Airport Operations A city that sweeps landing fees into its general fund has diverted revenue.
Prohibited practices include payments to a government entity that do not reflect the value of services actually provided to the airport, spending on general economic development or marketing unrelated to aviation, and payments in lieu of taxes above the value of services received. Landing fees, terminal rents, concession royalties, and fuel sales all fall under the restriction. The FAA’s detailed policy on permissible and impermissible uses sits at 64 Fed. Reg. 7696.5GovInfo. 64 FR 7696 – Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue
Two carve-outs are worth knowing. State aviation fuel taxes can fund a state aviation program, and airport revenue may be spent off-airport for noise mitigation.
Commercial airports document all of this through two annual filings: Form 5100-126, covering payments to government entities and services provided to them, and Form 5100-127, the operating and financial summary.6Federal Aviation Administration. Airport Financial Reporting Program Inaccurate or incomplete reports invite scrutiny and can delay future grant approvals.
Civil Rights and DBE Obligations
Federal money brings civil rights conditions that reach beyond 47107 itself. Sponsors must comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.7Federal Aviation Administration. Airport Civil Rights Policy and Compliance That means accessible terminals, restrooms, and ground transportation, and it means the FAA’s Office of Civil Rights can require corrective action to keep grant eligibility intact.8Federal Aviation Administration. Airport Civil Rights Programs
A boundary here matters. The Air Carrier Access Act governs airline conduct toward passengers with disabilities and is enforced by the Department of Transportation, not the FAA’s airport compliance office.9US Department of Transportation. About the Air Carrier Access Act A complaint about a gate area an airline controls goes to DOT under the ACAA; a complaint about an airport-controlled corridor or restroom goes under the ADA and Section 504.
Airports receiving DOT financial assistance must also run a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program under 49 C.F.R. Part 26, setting participation goals for minority-owned and women-owned businesses and showing good-faith efforts to meet them.10eCFR. 49 CFR Part 26 – Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Department of Transportation Financial Assistance Programs Lease agreements, concession contracts, and construction procurement all fall within the program.
Land Use Around the Airport
Grant assurances require sponsors to take reasonable steps, including zoning, to keep surrounding land uses compatible with normal airport operations, and to protect the terminal airspace needed for safe approaches.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 47107 – Project Grant Application Approval Conditioned on Assurances About Airport Operations Federal obstruction standards in 14 C.F.R. Part 77 define when a nearby structure becomes an obstruction, and airports are expected to work with local governments on height restrictions that stay within those limits.11eCFR. 14 CFR 77.17 – Obstruction Standards
Wildlife is part of the same picture. Retention ponds, poorly drained land, landfills, and certain agricultural operations attract birds and other wildlife that create strike risks. FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-33C is the FAA’s guidance on hazardous wildlife attractants on and near airports, and compliance is a practical expectation during grant oversight even though the AC is not a standalone regulation.12Federal Aviation Administration. Advisory Circular 150/5200-33C – Hazardous Wildlife Attractants on or near Airports
Buy American on Construction Materials
All steel and manufactured goods used in an AIP-funded project must be produced in the United States. The requirement is in 49 U.S.C. 50101, and it applies to the whole project, not just the federally funded slice.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 50101 – Buying Goods Produced in the United States Sponsors certify that materials are 100 percent domestic.14Federal Aviation Administration. Buy American Preference Requirements
The FAA can waive the requirement in limited circumstances: when enforcing it would be inconsistent with the public interest; when domestic steel or goods are not available in sufficient quantities or satisfactory quality; when U.S.-produced components account for more than 60 percent of total component costs and final assembly occurs in the United States; or when using domestic materials would raise overall project cost by more than 25 percent. Missing the requirement without a waiver puts project funding at risk of being withheld or clawed back.
Compliance Ties Into PFC Authority
Commercial service airports can collect a Passenger Facility Charge of up to $4.50 per departing passenger under 49 U.S.C. 40117, and use it for safety, security, capacity, noise, or airline competition projects.15Federal Aviation Administration. PFC Overview PFC authority is tied to compliance with the grant assurances. An airport found in violation of 47107 can lose the ability to collect PFCs, which for a large airport means tens of millions of dollars a year. That link makes PFC eligibility one of the FAA’s sharper enforcement tools.
How Violations Get Reported
Anyone who suspects an airport is breaking its grant obligations can file a complaint with the FAA. There are two tracks.
An informal complaint under 14 C.F.R. Part 13 does not require legal representation or direct involvement in the underlying dispute. It can be submitted verbally or in writing to a regional FAA office, an Airport District Office, or headquarters. The complainant does not need to name the specific assurance allegedly violated, but does need to identify the airport and describe the situation in enough detail for the FAA to look into it.16Federal Aviation Administration. Compliance Guidance Letter 2024-01 – Procedures for Initiating and Investigating 14 CFR Part 13 Informal Complaints There is no statutory deadline for the investigation, though most conclude within roughly 120 days.
A formal complaint under 14 C.F.R. Part 16 is a structured proceeding that produces a written determination by the FAA Director of Airport Compliance, which can be appealed. A formal complaint can be filed while an informal investigation is still open or after it closes. When both tracks address the same allegations, the FAA may pause the informal matter in favor of the formal one.
What Enforcement Looks Like
The FAA scales its response to the severity and persistence of the violation. The most common first step is withholding or denying future AIP grants, which stops runway rehabilitation and other planned work in its tracks.17Federal Aviation Administration. Overview of the Airport Improvement Program
In revenue diversion cases, the FAA can require repayment of the diverted funds, and civil penalties under 49 U.S.C. 46301 can reach up to three times the amount illegally diverted.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 46301 – Civil Penalties The general statutory penalty cap for non-diversion violations is $75,000 per violation, with each day of a continuing violation counting separately. Inflation adjustments push those amounts higher over time.
The FAA can also revoke PFC authority, cutting off a major revenue stream. If an airport refuses to correct violations, the FAA may refer the case to the Department of Justice for litigation. In extreme cases involving federally funded property, the government can seek to reclaim that property or impose operational restrictions.
Timing matters for anyone considering a complaint. There is a six-year statute of limitations on actions to recover illegally diverted airport revenue.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 47107 – Project Grant Application Approval Conditioned on Assurances About Airport Operations Once that window closes, diversion may go unrecovered no matter how clear the evidence.
Selling or Repurposing Airport Property
Property acquired with federal funds cannot simply be sold or repurposed. Under 14 C.F.R. Part 155, releasing airport property from federal obligations requires FAA approval. The FAA will grant a release only if the property no longer serves its original aviation purpose, or if release will not undermine that purpose and is necessary to advance federal interests in civil aviation.19eCFR. 14 CFR Part 155 – Release of Airport Property from Surplus Property Disposal Restrictions
When the FAA does approve a sale, the sponsor must commit to using all proceeds solely for developing, improving, operating, or maintaining a public airport. The FAA can attach additional conditions as personal covenants of the sponsor or as restrictions running with the land. Disposing of property without going through this process invites enforcement action and endangers eligibility for future grants.