On Friday, U.S. Representative Darren Soto announced Kissimmee Gateway Airport received a $21.1 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for the realignment and rehabilitation of Taxiway Alpha,the full-length parallel taxiway that serves the airport’s primary Runway 15/33.
Soto, along with State Rep. José Alvarez, announced the project at the airport alongside Kissimmee city officials and the City’s Director of Aviation, Shaun Germolus.
Federal funds will cover 95% of the project cost. Matching funds will come from the Florida Department of Transportation and airport revenues. Funding for both the federal and state aviation grant programs comes from taxes on aviation fuel, collected to fund both the air traffic and airport systems nationally.
Parallel taxiways facilitate the rapid access to and exit from an adjacent runway, increasing both safety and efficiency. The 6,000-foot taxiway was last rehabilitated in the 1990s. Due to revised safety criteria and the increased use of larger aircra at the airport, the taxiway will actually be shied farther east from the runway, requiring the reworking of numerous existing runway/ taxiway access taxiways and engine run-up areas.
In addition to the taxiway infrastructure grant, it was also announced that the last piece of federal funding needed for the new air tra control tower, to be constructed at the end of Patrick Street, had been received. For the tower project, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is providing $12.1 million, FDOT $5 million, and the airport $500,000. As with the existing control tower, the FAA will provide contract air tra controllers at no cost to the airport, along with some FAA equipment provided locally; however, the airport is required to provide a variety of communications equipment, computers, furniture, office supplies, and other items. Work on attaining funding for a new tower, needed by the continued growth of the airport and the air tra environment around greater Orlando, has been a decades-long pursuit. Both projects are scheduled to start construction in very early 2027 and be completed in 2028.
“In the last five years, we have been able to deliver over half a billion dollars in federal aviation funding into District 9,” said Soto, whose congressional district includes Orlando International and Orlando Executive Airports, in addition to Kissimmee Gateway.
Alvarez, who was previously a Kissimmee city commissioner and mayor, has long been a champion of the airport.
“My background is in real estate, and I have always said that the best real estate in the city of Kissimmee is the airport. It is both an economic engine and a center for aviation job training for the community,” said Alvarez.
Along with the two projects announced Friday, the airport sta_ is preparing to be able to start customs clearance operations for inbound international flights. Like the control tower operation, federal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will sta_ a city facility purpose-built to CBP standards. A potential location for the customs operation is on 5th Street on the west side of the airport.
For more information on the Kissimmee Gateway Airport, see https://bit.ly/3XnkC8l.
