The Laredo International Airport has undergone a series of major infrastructure improvements and is continuing to upgrade service to accommodate air cargo and passenger service.

            The airport encompasses 1,800 acres and has two parallel runways of 10,000 feet and 7,800 feet, and a cross-wind runway of 5,900 feet. The longest runway was reconstructed to accommodate the heaviest aircraft now flying. The airport also has an active Foreign Trade Zone.

            Several major cargo carriers are located adjacent to the airport, which has easy access to the World Trade Bridge truck crossing into Mexico.

Federal grants

            The airport recently received two Federal Aviation Administration grants, totaling more than $10 million, earmarked for airport improvement projects.  Additionally, the airport will be the first in the nation to be equipped with a Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System Local Integrated Tower Equipment (STARS LITE) radar display system. 

            One grant, in the amount of $6 million, is for implementing an airport noise abatement program and acquiring a tract of land located within the Runway Protection Zone. More than 500 Laredoans will be positively impacted by the project this grant will fund.

            The second grant, totaling $4,276,134, includes $3 million to install an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) at the end of Runway 35L, $1.2 million to rehabilitate a portion of the taxiway system and $76,134 to construct concrete cargo pads.  The grant will help improve safety and capacity at the airport.

            “The city of Laredo aggressively pursues all FAA grants, to help continue growing and improving the services and infrastructure of the Laredo International Airport,” said Mayor Betty Flores.  “By working closely with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Congressman Bonilla in Washington, D.C., we are able to highlight the needs of the airport and apply for the various grants offered by the FAA,” Flores added.

            Both grants require a 5 percent local match. Laredo is matching the grants with a total amount of $540,850: $315,790 for the first grant and $225,060 for the second grant.  Funds for the grant matching come from...

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