12:35 pm on Monday March 25, 2013
| Posted by George Kaplan | References The Post and Courier
FAA closing multiple air traffic towers in Carolinas
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it is closing air traffic control towers at eight small airports in North Carolina and South Carolina because of necessary budget cuts.
The hundreds of millions of dollars in budget decreases will effectively close towers at five North Carolina Airports and three in South Carolina. The closures will not force any of the airports out of business however, as pilots will now use a shared radio frequency to coordinate take-offs and landings.
The FAA says towers will be closed at the following airports:
- New Bern, North Carolina (EWN)
- Hickory, North Carolina (HKY)
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina (INT)
- Concord, North Carolina (JQF)
- North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (CRE)
- Greenville, South Carolina (GSP)
- Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (HHH)
In total, the FAA will be closing 149 towers across the United States that have fewer than 150,000 total flight operations per year.