Bob CollinsThe FAA has now released the list of airport towers it intends to close on April 7th, due to the sequester cuts.
The tower at the airports in Anoka (Blaine) and St. Cloud are the only towers in Minnesota to close, down from the three the secretary of transportation said he might close, and only one of them is on the original list.
Both towers are “contract towers,” operated by a private firm under contract to the government.
Spared were the airport towers at Flying Cloud and Crystal, both of which are staffed by FAA personnel. Flying Cloud is one of the busiest airports in Minnesota.
In Wisconsin, three eight airport control towers will close: Central Wisconsin in Mosinee, Kenosha, Eau Claire, Janesville, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Waukesha.
The Oshkosh closing will be worth watching since for one week of the year in July, it becomes the busiest airport in the world. During the giant EAA airshow, FAA controllers from elsewhere in the country staff the tower. They’re handpicked to do so, but it’s unknown — officially — what affect the planned furloughs of controllers will have. EAA officials say the show will go on and there will be a tower, however.
