March 07--Coastal Carolina Regional Airport's air traffic control tower is one of automatic federal spending cut's newest hits.
Airport officials knew the contract tower was one of 189 of 251 FAA contract towers on a potential cut list but Airport Director Tom Braaten said, "I got an email late Tuesday that said your airport is one that we will not be able to support."
The FAA is reportedly closing 173 such towers as a way to meet required across-the-board federal cuts, and that could also include towers at airports in Kinston, Greensboro, Winston Salem and Hickory. They are also on the list but it is not yet known whether they were in this cut. FAA funding to another 16 contract towers is expected in September to help cut more than $600 million.
"The FAA did not have a hard date for closing in the letter and we can have a rebuttal," Braaten said. "But we would have to show that closing it would adversely affect the national interest and I don't know if we can do that."
The closing date will probably be April 7, he said, because of notice required to contract operators at the affected towers, which at Coastal Carolina Regional Airport is Robinson Aviation, Inc.
A man answering the phone Wednesday afternoon at the Oklahoma City-based company said, "We are not providing comment at this time."
Asked which airports are on the list and how many employees would be affected, he said, "We haven't received the final decision."
CNN reported that Robinson Aviation Inc. CEO John Cozart said the decision was "not unexpected. I didn't think they'd resolve it in favor of the contract tower program. I kind of expected that they would continue on their course."
Braaten said four air traffic controllers, generally retired FAA or military controllers, staff the New Bern tower until 10 p.m., after which commercial and private pilots get coordinates and clearance from the tower at Cherry Point air station.
The air traffic controller at Coastal Carolina Regional Airport also did not want to comment.
Unless something happens to change the present directive, Braaten said, all flights will deal with Cherry Point's tower when taking off or landing at Coastal Carolina but air traffic should continue.
"We are setting up meetings to talk to them and talk to all general aviation pilots and explain how they enter the field and explaining the frequency," he said.
Braaten said he is sorry for the potential job loss for tower controllers who have been an integral part of Coastal Carolina Regional Airport's team, even riding in parade floats and participating in civic support functions, but air traffic into the area will continue.
"Airports have been operating without individual towers for years," Braaten said. "The FAA assigns them to higher air traffic centers and they operate through them at 50 percent of airports in the country."
Jacksonville and Greenville airports already operate without individual towers.
"When (then-President) Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981, New Bern operated without a tower until 1991," he said. "We had commercial traffic then. We've been very blessed that we had a tower. They're an extra set of eyes up high."
"The passenger should see no change," Braaten said. "They don't talk on the radio. I don't know yet what other cuts the FAA will make within their big system but from our perspective, it should not slow them down at all. I'm more concerned about the Department of Defense furloughs," which will cut income of local residents who use air travel.
The FAA targeted the contract towers at airports with fewer than 10,000 takeoffs and landings.
Coastal Carolina Regional Airport had about 8,300 last year.
Sue Book can be reached at 252-635-5665 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter@SueJBook.
Copyright 2013 - Sun Journal, New Bern, N.C.
