NBAA welcomes decision to delay tower closures

The National Business Aviation Association has welcomed the Federal Aviation Administration decision to delay the closure of 149 air traffic control towers until June.

President and CEO Ed Bolen (pictured) has issued the following statement regarding an announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the agency would delay the closure of 149 contract air traffic control towers until June 15, in order to provide time to further examine considerations related to the closures.

“As we have said, air traffic control towers play an integral role in ensuring that America’s aviation system remains the safest, largest and most efficient in the world, and we want to see as many towers remain open as possible. We welcome this decision from the FAA, which will give the agency time to take further input from airport officials and others, and to carefully examine all aspects involved in the closure of each tower. NBAA and the business aviation community look forward to providing additional guidance to the FAA in the coming weeks, as agency officials continue their tower-closure review process.”

NBAA and other aviation organisations have met with FAA officials outlining the industry’s concerns over the plan; Bolen wrote FAA Administrator Michael Huerta outlining the Association’s position on the proposed closures, and offering suggestions to help mitigate the impact tower closings on operations.