Budget cuts will close southland air traffic control towers, FAA says

Airport traffic control towers in Riverside,Fullerton, Pacoima and San Diego County will close starting April 7 under theFederal Aviation Administration’s forced spending cuts, the agency announcedtoday.

Control towers are scheduled to close at Riverside Municipal Airport,Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, Fullerton Municipal Airport, Brown Field in SanDiego and Ramona Airport in San Diego County, according to the FAA.

The Southland closures are among 149 federal contract towers nationwideexpected to close within a four-week period.

“We heard from communities across the country about the importance oftheir towers and these were very tough decisions,” Transportation SecretaryRay LaHood said.

In early March, the FAA proposed to close nearly 200 towers — includingthe structure at Hawthorne Municipal Airport — as part of its plan to meetthe $637 million in cuts required under budget sequestration.

However, the Hawthorne facility was saved after the FAA made thedecision the closure would negatively impact the national interest.

Also on the saved list is Santa Monica Airport, which will beconsidered in a later round of cuts, according to the FAA.

The FAA said it was targeting towers at airports with less than 150,000takeoffs and landings and less than 10,000 commercial flights a year.