Five Louisiana airports, including Chennault International Airport and Lake Charles Regional Airport, could lose air traffic
control facilities if the across-the-board cuts from sequestration take effect March 1, federal officials said Friday.
Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of
Transportation, and Michael Huerta, administrator of the Federal
Aviation Administration, sent
a letter to several aviation associations outlining the projected
cuts. The loss of air traffic control facilities is part
of the FAA’s plan to cut expenditures by $600 million for the rest
of the 2013 fiscal year in anticipation of the sequester.
“Beyond the letter, we haven’t been
contacted officially by anyone,” said Chennault’s executive director,
Randy Robb. “This
is what we called a drill when I worked at the Pentagon — what
would you do in such a situation, a what-if plan, if sequestration
occurs on schedule.
“We’re hopeful for a better outcome.
Our airfield is open 24 hours a day, and our tower is staffed from 6
a.m. to 10 p.m.
We are regularly accessed by military aircraft, of course, because
Chennault can handle every type of aircraft flying in the
world today — but military airplanes won’t go to an uncontrolled
field.
“If sequestration proceeds, there are options available for our tower operations, and we will pursue those options.”
More than 100 air traffic control towers “at airports with fewer than 150,000 flight operations or 10,000 commercial operations
per year” are being considered for closure, according to the letter. Monroe Regional Airport, Shreveport Downtown Airport,
and New Orleans Lakefront Airport also were listed as potentially losing air traffic control facilities.
“Sequestration is something that we
have been concerned with for some time; however, the focus of these cuts
are just now
coming to light,” said Lake Charles Regional Airport Director
Heath Allen. “The potential closing of these towers would undoubtedly
have far-reaching negative impacts to our nation’s economy. While
this does not mean that the airport would cease to operate,
air traffic control is critical to the safety and efficiency of
our nation’s air transportation system.”
Another change being considered includes furloughing “the vast majority of the FAA’s nearly 47,000 employees” for “one day
per pay period” until September, the end of the fiscal year. Employees could be furloughed up to two days per pay period.
Midnight shifts could be eliminated for 60 towers nationwide, including the Shreveport Tower at Barksdale Air Force Base.
LaHood and Huerta said people flying to cities like New York, Chicago or San Francisco “could experience delays of up to 90
minutes during peak hours.”