Politics & Government

Briscoe Field Control Tower Closing, County Responds

The tower in Lawrenceville, Ga., is one of 149 regional airport control towers to close starting next month due to budget cuts.

On Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will close 149 regional airport control towers starting in April.

Lawrenceville's Briscoe Field is on that list. 

The closures are a result of budget cuts. The Federal Aviation Administrtation, or FAA, was forced to cut nearly $600 million dollars from their $48 billion budget, according to CNN.com.

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The FAA plans to begin shutting down control towers nationwide on April 7. It should take four weeks to close all of the towers.

Joe Sorenson, communications director for Gwinnett County released this statement via email regarding the closure:

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"Gwinnett County was notified today that the Air Traffic Control Tower at Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field will be closed as a part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) plan to meet the $637 million in cuts required under budget sequestration. Under the plan, FAA will begin a four-week phased closure of 149 federal contract towers beginning April 7. 

"The Air Traffic Control Tower at Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field currently operates from 7:00am – 9:00pm daily. It is unclear what impact the closure will have on flight operations The County regrets that the FAA did not grant a waiver with our appeal, but we are hopeful that this is not a permanent or long-term situation.

"Gwinnett County reaffirms our continued commitment to maintaining all other safety and operational aspects at the Airport beyond the Air Traffic Control Tower."

Patch previously reported that even if the tower at Briscoe Field were to close, the airport could remain open and operating.

Control towers at regional airports in Albany, Athens, Macon and Cobb County are also slated to close. DeKalb Peachtree Airport in Atlanta's tower was spared. Click here for a complete list of closures.


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