The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, operator of three bridges between the U.S. and Canada, recently announced a $100,000 grant to help achieve a master plan for the Niagara Falls International Airport.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which operates the airport, received $970,000 for the master plan last year. The plan would begin this year and the NFBC would cover about 10 percent of the study's cost.

"An updated master plan is needed to accomodate this exciting aviation activity and coordinate millions of dollars in future capital projects," NFTA executive director Kimberly Minkel wrote in December to NFBC general manager Lew Holloway.

A passenger terminal was opened at the airport in 2009. In 2011, from Jan. thru Nov., 87,942 outbound passengers took flights out of Niagara Falls airport. The Buffalo International Airport, also operated by NFTA, reported 2.4 million outbound passengers in the same time frame.