Government May Close Some Airport Towers

[Kadie]

Government May Close Some Airport Towers
By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, February 16, 2005


(02-16) 15:49 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --


Control towers at some airports could go dark between midnight and 5 a.m. under a cost-cutting plan the government is considering.


The air traffic controllers' union says the move would compromise safety. Lawmakers worry it could lead to service reductions in their states.


Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said Wednesday that if the Federal Aviation Administration closes the tower in Fairbanks, Alaska, during the early morning hours, it "would be the most stupid suggestion I've ever heard from the bureaucracy."


With three Texas airports on the list, "closing towers at cities with military bases at a time of war is wrong," said Chris Paulitz, spokeswoman for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

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