Gallego Announces $500,000 Award for Del Rio International Airport

Washington, D.C.: Congressman Pete P. Gallego (TX-23) today announced that the City of Del Rio has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant for the Small Community Air Service Development Program. The federal grant, which was awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation, will help the Del Rio International Airport restore air service targeting American Eagle to Dallas/Fort Worth.  

“The City of Del Rio informed me early in my term that this was one of the City’s biggest priorities,” said Congressman Gallego. “I’m happy that I could help deliver an important win for the City and local residents. Helping our local communities is what public service is all about.” 

“We’re very thankful to Congressman Gallego for his support in improving local infrastructure,” said Del Rio Mayor Bobby Fernandez. “From his time as a state legislator, he’s been a staunch supporter of regional airports. The increased air service will not only help passengers, it will also serve as a boon to our entire economy.”

Congressman Gallego worked to ensure that the City of Del Rio’s application for the Small Community Air Service Development Grant would be approve.  His letter in support of the application included the following:

“The Queen City of the Rio Grande, Del Rio is a vibrant military community with a diversified economy based on business and commerce, tourism, and agriculture[…]Thanks to local efforts and your support, Del Rio became the only border community between Laredo and El Paso (some 850 miles) to offer passenger service. The recent loss of such air service has negatively impacted community residents. From government employees at Laughlin Air Force Base to those engaged in the international trade sector to the service industries relying on tourism - all have now lost a vital and convenient air link t0 the rest of Texas.”

The application from the City of Del Rio was selected because it met several priority and secondary selection criteria. The local cash contribution of 24.6% would help to restore air service at the community and aligns with the local contribution priority criterion. The community has established a strong public-private partnership with almost 40 members, who committed funding to the local priority contribution. In addition, the project aligns with secondary criterion as the community has a letter of support from American and the community is geographically isolated, which aligns with the location secondary criterion.

The Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) is a grant program designed to help small communities address air service and airfare issues. SCASDP can involve, among others, revenue guarantees, financial assistance for marketing programs, start-up costs and studies. 

The Small Community Program provides considerable flexibility in how funds can be used to implement a community’s grant proposal. For example, grant funds can be used to cover the expenses of any new advertising or promotional activities that can reasonably be related to improving the air service to the community. Funds may also be used for new studies designed to measure air service deficiencies, or to measure traffic loss or diversion to other communities, or for advertising or public relations agencies, and consulting firms.