Airport Manager Watching Washington

Sep 27, 2013 4:51 PM

Doug Jenkins - WBGZ Radio

With October 1 just around the corner, questions of budget cuts from federal agencies again has the General Manager at St. Louis Regional Airport in Bethalto keeping a close eye on the proceedings. In April, the airport avoided the closure of its control tower when sequestration made that seem like a possibility. While nothing has been said about that recently, it's a thought that David Miller would like addressed.

Miller comments

He says contract towers cost about one-third as much to operate as the FAA towers. Miller says in most cases, the contract towers are as safe or more so than their FAA counterparts. If the tower were to close, there are procedures in place that would allow air traffic to continue, but again, Miller says shutting down towers has not been discussed this time around.

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