Senate transportation panel reviews governor's FY26 aviation budget, hears updates on airport projects and a pending airport sale

Montpelier — The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday, March 19, heard a detailed presentation from the Vermont Agency of Transportation on the governor's recommended fiscal year 2026 aviation program budget and work plan, including capital projects at several state airports, a statewide hangar pre-permitting effort and a purchase-and-sale agreement for Caledonia County Airport that remains under FAA review.

At the start of the briefing, Evan Robinson, aviation program manager for the Agency of Transportation, told the committee the agency owns and operates 10 state airports and supports a larger network of privately owned public-use fields. Robinson said the agency's top priorities are safety, FAA and state compliance, and encouraging economic growth around airports.

"safety being the first. Now that's safety for all aviators that visit our airports, our users, our VTrans personnel, our community and the events that we have at our airport safety is number 1," Robinson said. He told senators the agency must meet FAA grant-assurance obligations for federally funded airports and seeks to increase airport-generated revenue to support operations.

Why it matters: The aviation program oversees facilities used for air ambulance hops, scheduled passenger service, freight and general aviation that local communities rely on for emergency response and economic access. Committee members repeatedly sought details on how federal grant losses or changes would be covered in state budgets, how airport-generated revenue compares with operating costs, and how the agency balances statewide goals with local noise and land-use concerns.

Key points from the presentation and committee discussion

State airports and projects: Robinson said VTrans manages 10 state-owned airports and that nine of those receive federal funding tied to federal obligations. He described recent and planned projects at multiple facilities: runway and apron rehabilitation and LED lighting upgrades in Rutland; an apron reconstruction and obstruction-removal work in Bennington tied to discretionary FAA grant funding; a terminal project starting at Northeast Kingdom International Airport (Coventry) supported with state T fund and a Northern Border grant; and pavement, taxiway and perimeter-fence projects at Highgate, Morrisville (Stowe State Airport), Hartness and other fields.

The agency also reported a planned fuel farm and terminal design work in Middlebury, a planned apron expansion and property acquisition/removal at Morrisville, and ongoing maintenance for safety equipment such as Rutland's engineered material arresting system.

Hangar pre-permitting and economic development: Robinson described a statewide, front-loaded pre-permitting effort that secured operational stormwater permits and partial Act 250 (Act 2 50 in the transcript) permitting for predefined hangar footprints to make airport parcels easier for developers to build on. He said that process recently completed work at Rutland and Bennington and that at Franklin County Airport the agency has two interested parties exploring development.

Caledonia County Airport sale: Robinson confirmed a purchase-and-sale agreement exists for Caledonia County Airport and said the state, the potential buyer and the FAA are working through the sale. "We do have a purchasing sales contract signed with a potential buyer," Robinson said. He added the buyer has proposed that the airport remain publicly available for perpetual public use as a condition of the sale. The committee pressed the agency for a timeline; Robinson said there is no shareable schedule and that FAA review remains a key dependency.

Funding and revenues: Robinson summarized funding sources as federal FAA apportionments and discretionary grants, non-primary entitlements and state T fund allocations used partly as the state match. He described the discretionary grant program as the source for many larger projects and said airport-generated revenues include hangar and commercial leases and fuel sales. Robinson provided program figures from the presentation (transcript excerpts): 189 private-use hangar leases, 32 commercial leases, and 12 state-owned hangars available for rent. He said total airport revenue for fiscal 2024 was reported in his presentation as $382,681 and that operational costs for fiscal 2024 were "over $2,000,000." He also said the agency is pursuing consultant work to refine a business plan and lease structure to increase sustainability.

TSA and federal funding gaps: The committee pressed the agency about a recent loss of federal funding for TSA screening at Rutland. Robinson said, "we recently lost that federal funding," and explained the agency has included that expense in the governor's proposed T fund allocation for aviation while it seeks further answers. Senators asked the agency to identify other instances where federal awards were replaced with state T fund dollars.

Community concerns and noise: Senators raised noise, privacy and community impacts from helicopters and drones. Senator White (first reference below) characterized aviation and rail as different climate-policy challenges: "I always felt like we were tying them together when I see rail as a carbon emissions reducer, and I see aviation as a carbon emissions expander." Robinson and other agency officials said they would explore federal eligibility for noise mitigation and noted community outreach is a priority.

Electrification and advanced air mobility: A committee member and agency leaders discussed new aviation technologies. In remarks recorded for the record, a secretary's office representative said the agency has engaged with Beta Technologies and has installed an electric aircraft charging station at Rutland that can also serve passenger vehicles, and that VTrans is evaluating electrification pilots at additional airports.

Follow-ups requested by the committee: Senators asked the agency to provide (1) a clearer breakdown of FY24 airport revenues versus operational costs, (2) a list of federal grants that were replaced by T fund dollars and the rationale for prioritizing those substitutions, (3) a status update and timeline for the Caledonia County Airport sale (including any legislative reporting required by prior authorization), and (4) options or eligibility for local noise mitigation grants.

No formal committee votes were taken on the aviation program during the presentation. Robinson and agency staff said they would follow up with the committee on the items above.

Ending: Robinson closed by inviting senators to visit state airports and said the agency would return with requested details. The committee indicated it will request written follow-ups on TSA funding, the Caledonia sale and revenue/cost comparisons.

Quotes used in this story are taken verbatim from the hearing transcript and attributed to the speakers shown in the committee record.