FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers

Mark Bott

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #30 on: April 01, 2013, 07:59:25 AM »
Is there any desire from VATUSA to entertain a "cool off" period before implementing these tower closure simulations?

Let me explain a little further... If anyone follows anything that the federal government does, you will completely understand that what is threatened is not always followed through. The latest news out of Texas is a prime example of how quickly this type of information can change.

I would humbly propose that VATUSA refrain from simulating these closures until a period of time (to be decided) has passed, and tower closures are confirmed and actually dark before we commit to simulating the closure. I think it's only fair to approach this in a calm (walk don't run) manner, and not attempt to puddle jump with the FAA press releases.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2013, 07:59:58 AM by Mark A. Bott »
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Don Desfosse

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #31 on: April 01, 2013, 10:48:50 AM »
Hi Mark,

Thanks for your input; I do appreciate it.  Yes, there were multiple approaches bantered about, running the gamut from ignoring the closures entirely to just closing everything on 4/7, regardless of FAA implementation date.  Though no solution will please 100% of everyone, I believe that, as I said earlier without trying to chase hourly or daily NOTAMs, the direction to do what the RW does, is a reasonable compromise.  I'm not going to chase hourly or daily NOTAMs, I don't expect any of the ATMs to, and I certainly don't expect any controller to.  I'm hoping common sense will prevail and we react to things that are cast in Jello or more firm (things that look like they will stick for a month or more), not daily whims.   I appreciate the walk, don't run analogy; the folks in Boston will tell you I'm a strong proponent of that.  But I did want to get a little ahead of the 4/7 date solely to ensure we were handling this situation in as much of a standardized method as possible.  Unfortunately, my crystal ball isn't working (otherwise I'd have hit the lottery and would be retired in Aruba  ), so am relying on ATMs' common sense on how to implement this in each of the ARTCCs for the affected facilities.  If nothing else, let's hope that all the RW closure stuff gets resolved quickly, and treat this as something to inject a little "freshness/flexibility/spontanaity/challenge/(or whatever you want to call it)" into our hobby.  Thanks again - your concern and thoughts are certainly valid!
« Last Edit: April 01, 2013, 10:51:11 AM by Don Desfosse »
Don Desfosse
Vice President, Operations, VATSIM (VATGOV2)
Division Director Emeritus, VATUSA

Mark Bott

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #32 on: April 01, 2013, 11:09:28 AM »
Quote from: Don Desfosse
Hi Mark,

Thanks for your input; I do appreciate it.  Yes, there were multiple approaches bantered about, running the gamut from ignoring the closures entirely to just closing everything on 4/7, regardless of FAA implementation date.  Though no solution will please 100% of everyone, I believe that, as I said earlier without trying to chase hourly or daily NOTAMs, the direction to do what the RW does, is a reasonable compromise.  I'm not going to chase hourly or daily NOTAMs, I don't expect any of the ATMs to, and I certainly don't expect any controller to.  I'm hoping common sense will prevail and we react to things that are cast in Jello or more firm (things that look like they will stick for a month or more), not daily whims.   I appreciate the walk, don't run analogy; the folks in Boston will tell you I'm a strong proponent of that.  But I did want to get a little ahead of the 4/7 date solely to ensure we were handling this situation in as much of a standardized method as possible.  Unfortunately, my crystal ball isn't working (otherwise I'd have hit the lottery and would be retired in Aruba  ), so am relying on ATMs' common sense on how to implement this in each of the ARTCCs for the affected facilities.  If nothing else, let's hope that all the RW closure stuff gets resolved quickly, and treat this as something to inject a little "freshness/flexibility/spontanaity/challenge/(or whatever you want to call it)" into our hobby.  Thanks again - your concern and thoughts are certainly valid!

Thank you Don. I understand, and we will proceed accordingly. Thank you for your consideration.
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Tim Farrell

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #33 on: April 01, 2013, 05:54:56 PM »
Rumor has it, the RW Texas DOT is picking up the tab for the towers do to close in Texas. Therefore, scheduled tower closings in Texas may not happen. ZFW will keep an eye on this and will follow suit should this be the case. Leave it up to the state Texas. Awesome!
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Brighton McMinn

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #34 on: April 01, 2013, 07:13:22 PM »
Quote from: Tim Farrell
Rumor has it, the RW Texas DOT is picking up the tab for the towers do to close in Texas. Therefore, scheduled tower closings in Texas may not happen. ZFW will keep an eye on this and will follow suit should this be the case. Leave it up to the state Texas. Awesome!

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Don Desfosse

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #35 on: April 05, 2013, 01:33:09 PM »
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will delay the closure of 149 air traffic control towers at small airports until June, The Associated Press reports.

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By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, April 5, 2:32 PM

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is delaying the closing of 149 airport control towers until mid-June in order to deal with legal challenges.

The first 24 closures had been scheduled for Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday the closures will be delayed until June 15. Trade groups representing companies that operate the towers under contract for FAA filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Washington.

The agency says about 50 airport operators and communities have also indicated they may want to pay for operation of the towers themselves, and more time is needed to work out those details.

FAA has previously said the closures are necessary to accommodate automatic spending cuts.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2013, 01:44:37 PM by Don Desfosse »
Don Desfosse
Vice President, Operations, VATSIM (VATGOV2)
Division Director Emeritus, VATUSA

Kenneth Bambach

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #36 on: April 05, 2013, 02:13:51 PM »
Gotta love it....Sequestration = closed facilities
                      Litigation = open facilities.

Only in America....land of bureaucracy and land of the law degree, where things aren't mutually exclusive
Ken Bambach
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Kris Kendrick

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FAA Makes Decision to Close Air Traffic Control Towers
« Reply #37 on: May 10, 2013, 05:44:08 PM »
May 10, 2013

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that DOT has determined that the recently enacted Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will allow the FAA to transfer sufficient funds to end employee furloughs and keep the 149 low activity contract towers originally slated for closure in June open for the remainder of fiscal year 2013. The FAA will also put $10 million towards reducing cuts and delays in core NextGen programs and will allocate approximately $11 million to partially restore the support of infrastructure in the national airspace system.

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http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/new...fm?newsId=14634
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