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Officials Worried Over Airport Tower Closure Consequences


Time is slowly ticking away for contract airport towers in Texas.

On Friday, San Marcos and Georgetown airports learned their fates may land on the wings of local and city governments. The FAA put their towers along with countless across the country on the chopping block, slashing their federal funding.

And backups in the sky and at the terminal could be on the way with more congestion at the airports that do have control towers.

Airport managers say closing the towers will eliminate one layer of safety. Pilots will be still able to operate but will rely more on each other, without the extra set of eyes in the tower

Beyond the safety aspect is an uncharted economic impact with a possible loss of some jet traffic due to the insurance requirements.

Both San Marcos and Georgetown stand to lose six air traffic controllers a piece. With communities outside of Austin continuing to grow, unmanned towers could force businesses to chart paths towards other runways.

By Adam Racusin