Posted Thursday, April 16, 2020 8:25 am

Yellowstone Regional Airport officials knew they’d be getting a financial boost from the federal government’s new Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. But they were taken aback on Tuesday when they learned the Cody airport — currently operating on a roughly $3 million budget — is in-line to receive slightly more than $18 million in emergency funding.

“It’s just, it’s amazing we got this much money,” YRA Manager Bob Hooper said Tuesday. He had guessed that the airport would receive a little over $1 million, like several other commercial airports in the state.

Speaking just hours after the FAA revealed the grants, Hooper said he did not know why the Cody airport is set to receive such a large amount.

“You take what you get,” he said, “and this time, Cody came out on the winning side, by far.”

Under the CARES Act, the Federal Aviation Administration is distributing nearly $10 billion in grants to more than 3,000 airports across the country. The recipients range from commercial hubs like Denver International Airport to small general aviation facilities like the Powell Municipal Airport, which is set to receive $30,000.

The aid is meant to bolster airports during the COVID-19 pandemic, as air travel has plunged amid efforts to slow the spread of the respiratory disease (see related story).

“This is the most severe setback to the industry that I’ve ever seen, far worse than 9/11 ever was,” Hooper said, adding that, “our income has basically fallen to zero.”

Still, YRA Board Chairman Bucky Hall said he, too, was caught off-guard by the volume of federal aid heading the airport’s way.

“We’re going to have some significant loss of revenue,” Hall said, “but it ain’t $18 million bucks.”

He questioned how the federal government seems to be printing money; the overall CARES Act included some $2.2 trillion of emergency spending.

“In a way it’s kind of disturbing,” Hall said, “but if you’re on the receiving end of it, it’s like, I’m not going to say no.”

For commercial service airports like Cody’s, the funding was split up based on three factors:

• 50% of the allocation is based on the number of people who boarded flights at the facility in 2018;

• 25% is based on how much debt the airport was carrying in fiscal year 2018; and

• 25% is based on the airport’s ratio of unrestricted reserves to debt service that year.

The FAA’s formula led to unexpected results.

With $18,017,498, Yellowstone Regional Airport was awarded more funding than any other airport in Wyoming or Montana. It came in ahead of much busier facilities in Jackson ($16.49 million), Bozeman ($15.45 million) and Billings ($12.72 million). And despite hosting more than twice as many passengers as the Cody airport in 2018, the Casper/Natrona County International Airport is set to receive $1.54 million — less than a tenth of YRA’s projected haul.

It was a similar story in Montana, where the airport at West Yellowstone — which typically offers commercial air service for only four months out of the year — is in-line to receive $17.89 million.

“We’re pleasantly surprised, and we’re very excited to be allocated the funds,” (West) Yellowstone Airport Manager Jeff Kadlec told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

The FAA’s press office did not respond to an inquiry by press time Wednesday seeking more information about how smaller airports in Wyoming and Montana wound up receiving the largest amounts of money.

There are relatively few limitations on the new CARES Act Airport Grants, as the FAA says the funds are “available for any purpose for which airport revenues may lawfully be used.” A news release from the FAA specifically mentioned capital projects, debt payments (YRA has no debt) and operating expenses, like payroll and utilities.

The federal government is encouraging airports to spend the money “expeditiously to reduce the adverse impacts of the current public health emergency,” but the agency says there is no deadline for spending the money.

Hall and Hooper said they’ll be waiting for some additional confirmation that the $18 million of FAA funding is “in the bank” before attempting to spend it, but they already have some potential ideas.

“We’ve got projects that we want to do and we need to do,” Hooper said.

While the first priority will be paying operational expenses like salaries and bills, Hooper said the board may want to consider capital projects — such as expanding the terminal and improving landing procedures.

“Our airport’s in great shape … but we might be able to do some things years ahead of time,” he said.

Hall wondered if the influx of federal cash might mean that the airport will not have to seek funding from the City of Cody and Park County in the coming years. In this 2019-20 fiscal year, the airport is receiving $345,565 from the two agencies, split 60-40 between the city and county.

“Maybe … this will be a kickstart to help us get self-sufficient in perpetuity, which would be great,” Hall said.