On April 15th, the US Department of Transportation announced it was awarding the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport a grant, as part of relief efforts from COVID-19.
General Manager Katrina Amos told KRCU that business was slowed under lockdown as would-be flyers were told to stay home.
“We have seen a drastic reduction in the amount of people that are flying out,” she said. “For the month of April, we had a 94% reduction in people leaving the airport.”
However, these funds from the CARES act, distributed through the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration, are aimed at helping fund operations and maintenance costs when general revenue won’t.
The grant will help with operations and maintenance costs, and she says MoDOT and the federal government are now treating it like any other grant, requiring an application for review with consideration of the projects on which they intend to use the grant.
“Everything happened so quickly. Criteria needed to be put in place. So we’ve been waiting on additional guidance on how we can really use the funds,” she says. “It’s just kind of been a slow process of getting all of that information.”
She says the airport continues to provide flights for southeast Missouri as they abide by CDC guidelines, along with the airlines.
“We’re here for all of your essential travel needs,” she says.