move on July 13, 2000. County legislators held a public hearing about the idea on December 12, 2001; most of the residents who spoke at the meeting were in favor of the idea. In September 2003, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded Plattsburgh International Airport $624,200 of funding to build a passenger terminal. In November 2003, the federal transportation funding bill included $2 million for the passenger terminal. A grant from the Federal Aviation Administration funded security improvements in August 2004. In 2004, Precision Jet nearly selected to operate the new airport, but the county decided not to approve the contract because of a lack of detail in the business plan, concerns about whether the Federal Aviation Administration would approve the proposed terminal, questions about whether it was legal to give the company exclusive development rights, and concerns that delegating all control over decisions could negatively impact the county's long-term economic future. On March 1, 2005, the county ended its contract with Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation to operate the airport. Congress voted to approve a $721,000 grant for Essential Air Service for Plattsburgh International Airport in November 2004. The airport received another $1.6 million of federal funding for runway construction in March 2005 and $2.6 million of federal funding for construction of the terminal in April 2005. The county was approved for $500,000 of federal funding to construct an access road to the airport in August 2005. The airport's official groundbreaking was held on August 17, 2005, and it officially opened on April 26, 2006. Airport facilities Plattsburgh International Airport's facilities include a runway and a concrete ramp for cargo and aircraft. Plattsburgh also has no night curfews or flight restrictions and enjoys calm weather year-round (97% VMC). It is also a Foreign Trade Zone and Empire Zone, making it a virtually tax free zone for many enterprises. The airport promotes itself as ("Montreal's American Airport"). Montreal does not have a secondary passenger airport in Canada; Plattsburgh is from the city, and the South Shore suburbs are closer to Plattsburgh airport than they are to Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. more than 80% of passengers are Canadians who drive across the border into the U.S. so they can take domestic flight to American destinations. All signs are bilingual in English and French, and workers are offered French classes. The airport has significant multi-modal capabilities, including its own interchange on the Interstate Highway System