Dates announced for Wisconsin airport tower closures



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has told 149 regional airports across the country it would begin closing their air traffic control towers in April, but said it would spare another 40 towers that had been on the chopping block.

The agency said the cuts are necessary to help meet $637 million in forced spending cuts.

Several airports in Wisconsin are affected by the cuts. They include:


    At Timmerman Regional Airport, five people currently work in the control tower.  It operates 14 hours a day, seven days a week.

    “We’re disappointed that the tower is going to close.  We’re disappointed that our controllers are going to lose their jobs,” said Chief Flight Instructor Dan Gerard.

    The airports will stay open, because pilots can communicate in the air without a control tower.  However, the air traffic controller is the one person aware of all aircraft in the airspace.  Their job is to coordinate traffic patterns efficiently.

    “Now that added layer of security is going to be missing,” said Gerard.

    The airports must adopt new policies and procedures to manage air traffic.

    The tower closures will begin April 7 and will be phased in over four weeks, FAA Chief Operating Officer David Grizzle said in a memo obtained by CNN. Some towers were spared after the FAA considered appeals from towers, and consulted with the departments of defense and homeland security.

    CLICK HERE to view the entire FAA tower closure list