ATLANTA -- The Federal Aviation Administration will close numerous air traffic towers and fire thousands of flight controllers on Monday as the sequester begins to settle across main stream America.
A source with the FAA told this aerospace journalist that 238 air traffic control towers will be closed at local airports across the nation beginning March 4.
He also stated that over 2,000 air traffic controllers will receive pink slips when they report for work on Monday.
"How can President Obama state the sequester will not hurt America's safety," the source said. "Private aircraft will need to approach an air field with even more alertness than ever before."
The airport downsizing will only effect the small and medium size airports, and not larger commercial towers such as Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
In metro Atlanta, for example, only Peachtree-DeKalb airport will keep their air traffic tower operational, while Gwinnett County Airport and Fulton County Airports will have their towers closed.
Pilots wishing to land at airports with newly closed towers will be informed to switch to a specific frequency to support takeoff and landings.
In South Carolina, Hilton Head Airport's tower will also fall silent this week.
Late on Friday, The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds announced that they will close out their brief air show season on March 31 as a part of the sequester.
The tower closures could also see the cancellation of smaller air shows throughout the year.
(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace, science & technology. Follow his updates via Twitter @AbsolutSpaceGuy.)
Comments