Aviation Groups Want Contract Tower Funding Continued

Anticipating the end of the U.S. government’s 2013 Fiscal Year on September 30, nearly a dozen aviation organizations sent a joint letter late last week to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders asking them to provide continued funding in FY2014 for the 149 contract air traffic control towers at risk of closure under sequestration cuts.

“Events of recent months have made it abundantly clear that the FAA contract tower program enjoys strong bipartisan support in both chambers, and we urge Congress to dedicate funding to the program for FY2014,” the associations said in the letter sent to House appropriations committee chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), Senate appropriations committee chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and other ranking committee members.

In the letter, aviation organization leaders urged lawmakers to provide $150 million in dedicated funding in the FY2014 budget to preserve the contract tower program should sequestration continue to be enforced. “This will fund the current contract towers in addition to several non-tower airports eligible for the program and will continue this important FAA safety program,” they said.