Airport Alert: White House Releases Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request

April 3, 2026

The White House today unveiled a fiscal year 2027 budget request that proposes $4 billion for the Airport Improvement Program along with funding to hire more air traffic controllers and advance plans for a "Brand-New Air Traffic Control System." The budget also includes a proposal to require small airports to join the Screening Partnership Program.

Overall, the new budget request proposes to increase defense spending from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion with $350 million of that amount tagged for another reconciliation package, which Congress is expected to consider this spring. The White House plan also calls for cutting non-defense discretionary spending by $73 billion, in part, by focusing on what it describes as “woke, weaponized, and wasteful programs….”

Notable transportation cuts include a proposal to decrease Essential Air Service funding by approximately $372 million and another to eliminate subsidies for electric vehicle charging stations, which would save $4.2 billion. The budget request also omits funding for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants program.

On the DHS front, the administration is proposing significant staffing reductions at TSA and would require small airports to join the Screening Partnership Program – a move that would save an estimated $52 million. The administration argues that “airports that already use this program have demonstrated savings compared to Federal screening operations.” However, it is unclear if Congress will be receptive to the controversial proposal.

Following the release of the budget request today, Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate will soon begin their work to craft their respective 12 annual funding bills for the federal government covering the fiscal year that begins on October 1.

Federal Aviation Administration

The White House plan includes approximately $22.4 billion for the FAA in FY27 -- $220.7 million less than the current level and almost $4.9 billion less when you factor in expiring Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, including Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) and the Airport Terminal Program (ATP).

Airport Improvement Program/Infrastructure Funding

Traditional AIP Funding: The administration is proposing $4 billion for traditional AIP funding in FY27 – the same as the current funding level. Of that amount, $160 million would go toward administrative costs, $15 million for the Airport Cooperative Research Program, and almost $42.2 million for Airport Technology Research. The administration’s request does not include funding for the Small Community Air Service Development Program, which typically comes from the AIP account.

Supplemental Funding: The administration is not requesting any funding for airport supplemental discretionary grants in FY27. The FY26 transportation spending package included $577.4 million for supplemental AIP discretionary grants with $542.4 million of that amount fenced off for congressional earmarks.

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: The IIJA contained more than $20 billion for airport infrastructure projects for FY22 through FY26 via Airport Infrastructure Grants and the Airport Terminal Program. FY26 is the fifth and final year for these programs, and, not surprisingly, the administration is not requesting additional funds to extend the airport IIJA-related programs.

Facilities and Equipment

F&E Funding: The administration is proposing $4 billion for FAA Facilities and Equipment in FY27 – the same as the current funding level. According to budget documents, this funding, coupled with the $12.5 billion that Congress already provided for ATC upgrades, will allow the FAA “to continue to build a Brand-New Air Traffic Control System, known as BNATCS.” Notably, the administration is expected to request billions of dollars in additional funding for ATC upgrades as part of the reconciliation process that Republicans in Congress plan to pursue in the weeks ahead.

Air Traffic Control Modernization/Airspace Redesign: The budget request includes “$1.5 billion to support the overarching Brand-New Air Traffic Control System effort” and $106.5 million for the Major Airspace Redesign Program.

Operations

Operations Funding: The administration’s plan includes almost $14.2 billion for FAA operations – almost $482 million above the current level. That funding will “support the Administration’s air traffic controller hiring surge, as well as enhancements to aviation safety, commercial space operations, and updates to FAA’s outdated telecommunications systems.”

Controller Staffing: The budget request includes $95.4 million to “continue the supercharged controller hiring and training.” The DOT budget highlights how the FAA plans to “hire 2,300 new controller trainees in FY27, 100 more than in FY26.” It also highlights efforts to “streamline the path for controller training, which is a critical step for rebuilding the pipeline of trainees who will eventually become Certified Professional Controllers.”

Commercial Space: The budget proposal also contains $17.2 million for commercial space operations. According to budget documents, “the number of launch and re-entry permits submitted by the industry to FAA in FY25 was 53 percent higher than in FY23, and this trend is projected to continue.”

Research, Engineering, and Development

RE&D Funding: The White House is proposing $165 million for FAA's Research, Engineering, and Development – $126 million less than the current level.

Small Community Programs

FAA Contract Tower Program: As expected, the administration's budget does not include a specific funding request for the FAA Contract Tower Program. The FY26 DOT appropriations bill included $279.2 million for the FCT Program -- a record amount that was $23.3 million above the FY25 enacted level.

However, the budget indicates that the administration is requesting $127 million “to fund increases in essential contracts, including the Federal Contract Tower Program.” It also indicates that the “budget requires additional funding to continue providing Air Traffic Control Services to 266 towers, costs associated with additional staffing requirements needed to address scheduling standards aimed at reducing controller fatigue, aviation liability insurance, air traffic manager wages and air traffic controller wage determinations.”

Essential Air Service: The administration is proposing $142 million in discretionary funds for the EAS program in FY27 – approximately $372 million less than the current level. The administration wants to reduce EAS subsidies “by proposing a mix of reforms to adjust eligibility and subsidy rates to help rural communities’ air transportation needs in a more sustainable manner, while maintaining the program.”

Congress rejected the administration’s proposal to cut EAS in FY26 and opted to boost funding for the program instead.

Small Community Air Service Development: As expected, the administration is not requesting funds for the Small Community Air Service Development Program in FY27.

Department of Homeland Security

The administration is proposing a discretionary budget of $63 billion for DHS n FY27, including funding for the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This funding level is a $2.2 billion, or a 3.3 percent, decrease from the 2026 annualized funding level (since there is not yet a final enacted FY26 DHS appropriations bill to compare with).

The overall DHS request is mixed for airports. It proposes to eliminate funding for 8,385 positions within TSA, many of which are Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), and shifts some of those costs to airports, particularly smaller airports, which would be required to shift from federal to private screeners under the administration’s plan. However, TSA’s budget also proposes significant increases for security technologies.

Transportation Security Administration

The administration is requesting a total appropriation of $10.8 billion for TSA. The request assumes Congress will end the diversion of aviation security passenger fees currently being shifted to deficit reduction in FY27 – one year ahead of schedule – and that $1.68 billion in additional fee revenue can be used by the agency for its needs. After factoring out fees, the net discretionary funding requested for TSA is $6.144 billion to advance transportation security technology, enhance the passenger experience, and optimize operations.

To leverage the full $4.7 billion in anticipated Aviation Passenger Security Fee offsetting collections, the White House must submit, and Congress must approve a legislative proposal to terminate the mandatory contribution to the deficit reduction.

Key funding items for TSA include:

Requires Small Airports to Privatized Screening: The budget proposes to begin the privatization of TSA’s airport screeners by requiring all category III and IV airports to enroll in the Screening Partnership Program, under which TSA pays for private screeners at designated airports. Currently only 20 airports nationwide participate in this program. The budget notes that “airports that already use this program have demonstrated savings compared to Federal screening operations.” The move would yield a net cost savings, estimated at $52 million and 4,528 FTEs in FY27, compared to Federal screening.

Eliminates Funding for TSA to Staff Airport Exit Lanes: Once again, the administration proposes transitioning access control at exit lanes from TSA to airports, saving the agency $97.3 million and 836 FTEs, “aligning the responsibility with state and local control rather than TSA.” According to the budget request, staffing security lanes is not a screening function but rather a function that falls under the purview of access control. If Congress agreed to the exit lane request and changed the underlying law, TSA would reassign exit lane personnel to support screener services at the checkpoint. Budget documents indicate that TSA will work “with airports to integrate and assess exit lane security within perimeter security plans.” This proposed change, if adopted, would impact 158 exit lanes at 89 airports nationwide.

Additional Workforce Reductions: The budget request includes two other major efforts to reshape TSA’s workforce saving more than $382 million beyond those noted above for SPP and exit lanes. The largest reduction would come from TSO staffing levels (-3,515 FTEs). The next largest reduction (-511 FTEs) would come from eliminating staff redundancies and optimizing other staff positions.

Increases Funding for Checkpoint Security Technologies: The budget request includes $225.9 million for the Checkpoint Property Screening System programs to deploy computed tomography systems nationwide, which will significantly improve TSOs ability to detect threat objects in accessible property. If this request is funded, it would speed up the full operational deployment of these systems to airports nationwide from 2042 to 2034.

Invests in Remote Screening Technology: The proposal includes $31 million to invest in airport checkpoint computed tomography units with remote and cross-lane screening capabilities, enabling TSOs to review and clear images in real time across airport locations, improving threat detection, increasing passenger throughput, and checkpoint capacity, enhancing operational resilience, and reducing computed tomography system demand and staffing needs.

Increases Funding for Credential Authentication Technology: The budget requests $41 million to deploy 700 Credential Authentication Technology systems. These machines enhance security by automating the identification verification process. If this funding level is approved, it would advance the full operational capability deployment from 2042 to 2029.

Recapitalizes Outdated Security Systems: The budget proposal requests a total of $89.8 million, an increase of $48.1 million, for TSA to modernize its screening capabilities and replace outdated equipment like advanced imaging technology, bottle liquid scanners, and explosive trace detection units to address critical security gaps, enhance security effectiveness, support federalized airport checkpoint expansions, reduce physical contact with passengers, and increase alarm resolution capabilities.

Invests in E-Gates at Airport Checkpoints: The proposal includes $20 million for TSA to invest in “automated, touchless airport checkpoints using e-Gates, digital IDs, and biometrics to enable secure, self-service identity verification, streamline checks, and double passenger throughput, while improving security and customer experience through reduced interactions and enhanced imposter defense.”

Increases TSA’s Maintenance Budget for Needs at All Federalized Airports: The budget requests a 25 percent increase ($159 million) in funding to sustain and maintenance security screening technology equipment across all federalized airports, noting that timely maintenance reduces baggage delays and passenger wait times.

LEO and Canine Reimbursements: As expected, there is no funding in the budget request for grants to reimburse law enforcement officers or state and local canine teams. As a reminder, Congress has not provided resources for either of these programs since FY23 and FY24 respectfully.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The administration is proposing $18.5 billion in net discretionary funding for CBP. The budget contains scant details about airport priorities. Instead, it focuses on technology investments to secure the border and for legitimate trade, including to improve tariff collections. The budget also assumes a significant increase in fee revenue as result of legislation enacted into law in 2025 permitting the agency to reduce appropriations for staff and utilize this revenue instead without affecting its front-line operations.

Highlights of the CBP budget request include:

CBP Officers: The request does not request any funding for new CBP officers in FY27. As a reminder, the One Big Beautiful Bill included funding for 5,000 new officers and the agency is in the process of hiring them to fill these positions.

Overtime: The White House proposes to continue the per-person overtime cap at $45,000 in FY27, consistent with prior years’ limitations.

Global Entry: The budget request assumes the collection of $444.3 million in Global Entry fee revenue. Global Entry has over 13 million active enrolled member and is offered at 64 U.S. airports and 15 international preclearance locations.

Biometric Exit: The budget request assumes the collection of $14.3 million in fees to support the biometric exit program in FY27. Revenue for this program continues to decline year after year and currently does not cover the costs to deliver biometric exit capabilities.

Additional Information