ATC
Bridgeport Operators Rally To Keep Tower Open

Operators at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, Conn., are stepping up efforts to keep their ATC tower open after withdrawal of federal funding. Kyle Slover, COO of local FBO Volo Aviation, told AIN that discussions about options for keeping the tower open on a privately funded basis were already under way before the FAA’s March 22 announcement that 149 towers are to close at U.S. airports beginning April 7.

Slover said that Volo, which is also an aircraft charter and management operator, is concerned about “the loss of [operational] sequencing and safety margins that a tower provides.” From a business perspective, he is concerned about a drop in traffic in Bridgeport, which is a popular airport for flight training and a reliever for traffic in the New York City metropolitan area. “This could have a measurable effect on our business,” he concluded.