Saturday, May 11, 2013
FAA chief makes an announcement on funding.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, May 11
The control tower at Gwinnett County-owned Briscoe Field will remain open at least through September, according to a Federal Aviation Administration announcement Friday (May 10). FAA Director Ray LaHood said in a statement: ...the recently enacted Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will allow the FAA to transfer sufficient funds to end employee furloughs and keep the 149 low activity contract towers originally slated for closure in June open for the remainder of fiscal year 2013. The federal government's fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Briscoe Field's control tower, which is maintained by the FAA, had been among 149 towers nationally that were slated to be closed under federal budget cuts known as sequestration. Citing economic and safety …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Calling the FAA's decision 'unlawful,' Gwinnett leaders go the legal route to try to keep the facility's control tower operating.
The Atlanta airport -- the world's busiest -- would be affected by the closure of the FAA-maintained control tower at Briscoe Field, according to Gwinnett officials. Gwinnett leaders announced this week that they are seeking to join a legal matter that was initiated by Spokane, Wash., that is pending before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Airports in both areas face the loss of their control towers due to cutbacks that have been mandated by federal budget cuts known as sequestration. County officials said Briscoe Field "diverts a meaningful amount of traffic" from Atlanta's airport. That relief would not be possible if federal officials follow through with closure of Briscoe's tower. -- How do you feel about Briscoe Field's tower …
Monday, April 29, 2013
The airport in Gwinnett joins the Spokane Airport in Washington State in asking a judge to review the FAA's decision to stop funding the airport traffic control towers.
Gwinnett County is not giving up the fight to keep the airport traffic control tower at Briscoe Field fully funded. The airport in Lawrenceville joined a lawsuit filed by the Spokane Airport in Spokane, Wash. On April 24th, Gwinnett County filed a motion to intervene in the case of Spokane Airport Board, Petitioner v. Michael P. Huerta Administrator and Federal Aviation Administration, Respondents, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Case No. 13-71172. They are requesting a judge review the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to stop funding to federal contract towers. “Gwinnett County is seeking to join in this action as our interests are aligned with those of Spokane and other similarly situated airports with …
Friday, April 26, 2013
As pilots and business owners feared the worst should the tower at Briscoe Field be shut down, lawmakers worked feverishly to minimize the effects of the sequester on local airfields.
The House has passed a plan that could potentially keep the tower at Briscoe Field and other private airfields open. The FAA announced in March it would eliminate funding for the towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration. In early April, the closure date was scheduled for June 15. Now, that date may be even further in the future, if at all. According to News-Press.com, the Senate agreed unanimously late Thursday to "allow the Federal Aviation Administration to shift $253 million from other accounts so it can end furloughs and keep towers open at smaller airports nationwide." The House approved the decision today. For local pilots and business owners at the field, that’s very good news. “If we …
Friday, April 5, 2013
All 149 air traffic control towers will continue operating until June 15.
(Editor's note: the following is a press release issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.) The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it will delay the closures of all 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15. Last month, the FAA announced it would eliminate funding for these towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration. This additional time will allow the agency to attempt to resolve multiple legal challenges to the closure decisions. As part of the tower closure implementation process, the agency continues to consult with airports and operators and review appropriate risk mitigations. Extending the transition …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The FAA announced the date the Gwinnett County airport tower will close due to budget cuts.
Sunday, May 5th will be the last day of operations for the control tower at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. Earlier in the month, the Federal Aviation Administration announced the Gwinnett County airport tower will be one of the 149 to close starting April 7th. On Wednesday, the FAA released a list of closure dates for the airports. The towers at Kennesaw's McCollum Field and the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport in Albany are also set to close on May 5th. Athens-Ben Epps Airport's tower will cease operations on April 21st. The closures are in an attempt to cut $637 million dollars from the FAA's budget. Patch previously reported that even with the tower at Briscoe Field closing, the airport could remain open and operating.
Friday, March 22, 2013
The tower in Lawrenceville, Ga. is one of 149 regional airport control towers to close starting next month due to budget cuts.
On Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will close 149 regional airport control towers starting in April. Lawrenceville's Briscoe Field is on that list. The closures are a result of budget cuts. The FAA was forced to cut nearly $600 million dollars from its $48 billion budget according to CNN.com. The FAA plans to begin shutting down control towers nationwide on April 7th. It should take four weeks close all of the towers. Patch previously reported that even if the tower at Briscoe Field were to close, the airport could remain open and operating. Control towers at regional airports in Albany, Athens, Macon and Cobb County are also slated to close. DeKalb Peachtree Airport in Atlanta's tower was spared. Click …
Monday, February 25, 2013
The control tower at the airport in Lawrenceville, Ga. is among those on an FAA closure list.
Should the massive U.S. sequester budget cuts become reality, Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville could be affected. The control tower at the Gwinnett County-owned facility is among more than 100 federal air traffic control operations that could be affected by the looming cuts, according to a Gwinnett spokesperson. The control tower at Briscoe Field is operated by the Federal Aviation Administration. And FAA Director Ray LaHood informed Gwinnett Authorities Friday that the tower could be closed, county spokesperson Joe Sorenson said Monday. However, Briscoe Field would remain open and operating even if the tower were closed, Sorenson said. And revenue derived from the airport likely would remain unchanged. Sorenson noted that the county derives…
David Womack
8:08 am on Saturday, April 6, 2013
Why does the FAA fund these small airport towers vs. the people that use the airport? more ›