The Kinston Jetport’s control tower will remain open a little longer.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday it will delay closing the 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15.
The Kinston Jetport tower at Stallings Field in the Global TransPark was one of five towers in North Carolina included in the FAA’s March 22 announcement to be eliminated because of $637 million of budget cuts under sequestration. The closures would have started Sunday under a phased, four-week process.
The 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 will continue to consult with airports and operators and review appropriate risk mitigations. Extending the transition deadline will give the FAA and airports more time to execute the changes to the National Airspace System.
“This has been a complex process and we need to get this right,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “Safety is our top priority. We will use this additional time to make sure communities and pilots understand the changes at their local airports.”
Without funding for tower operations, pilots will fly the skies, take off and land on their own — responsibilities they are familiar with at airports that have no tower.
Rick Barkes, acting airport operations manager for the Kinston Jetport, said the additional time is welcomed.
“It gives us time to sort out the details,” he said, “and make a more informed decision with the tower going forward.”
About 50 airport authorities and other stakeholders have indicated, as of Friday, they may join the FAA’s non-Federal Contract Tower program and fund the tower operations themselves. This additional time will allow the FAA to help facilitate that transition.
Barkes said it will give more time to explore the benefits of having tower operations versus the cost of keeping the tower open.
“We’re exploring all those possibilities,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to do more fact gathering.”
FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said, “We will continue our outreach to the user community to answer any questions and address their concerns about these tower closures.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.