By Matt Brower
Star-Banner
Published: Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 6:22 p.m.
In 1958, the Federal Aviation Act was signed into law. This created the Federal Aviation Agency, which provided for the safe and efficient use of airspace.
This agency went through several changes and growth periods, becoming what we now know as the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA. The scope of the FAA is enormous, as it should be with a $15 billion budget.
The U.S. national airspace system is the safest, most efficient and most emulated system in the world. The United States is home to more than 19,000 landing facilities — of which just 5,171 are public like the airports in Ocala and Dunnellon. Out of those airports, only 514 have control towers. Of these 514 towers, 251 are contract towers, operated by private contractors.
The recent “sequester” requires the FAA to cut $600 million from its budget. The majority of these cuts are from the contract tower program. Of the 251 towers, 149 are scheduled to be cut out of the system. These contract towers provide the same service the FAA-operated control towers provide, at about one-third of the cost.
The control tower at the Ocala International Airport is a contract tower, and the estimated annual cost of operating this tower is $459,000.
For Ocala, the control tower provides a step to the next stage of growth for the airport. It, along with the other infrastructure improvements on and around the airport, combines to provide a catalyst of opportunity for new or expanding business for our community. We are working with other affected airports, our congressional representatives, and industry leaders on saving the contract tower system. However, it appears that Ocala’s control tower will cease operations on April 21, 2013.
From April 22 and beyond, airplanes will still land and take off at the Ocala International Airport. Although the absence of a tower diminishes operational effectiveness, it does not make the airport unsafe. The airport successfully operated as a nontowered airport for 48 years (from 1962 to 2010), and it can successfully operate as a nontowered airport in the future. The airport will remain open for business.
Despite the setback in tower operations, Ocala will continue to leverage its airport facility as an economic driver for our community. Airports traditionally serve as a catalyst for job creation, economic growth, as well as provide transportation alternatives to the community, and this is certainly true in Ocala.
I encourage residents to contact their respective Congressional representatives and urge them to find sensible cuts that do not affect our nation’s infrastructure or negatively affect facilities that serve as viable economic engines.
Matt Brower is Ocala’s city manager.
Source: http://www.ocala.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment