Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

The FAA closed its Chicago Midway Air Traffic Control Tower after several technicians there tested positive for Covid-19. Duties at that tower were shifted to the Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control in Elgin, Illinois, but operators are advised of the potential for delays and a reduced rate of operations.

 


“The air traffic system is a resilient system with multiple backups in place,” the agency said in a statement. “This shift is a regular execution of a long-standing contingency plan to ensure continued operations. Each facility across the country has a similar plan that has been updated and tested in recent years.” It added that the safety of its staff is a top priority and those employees are an “essential component&nbsp;of our airspace.”

 


The FAA confirmed the tower would remain closed today but was unclear of the timing on when it would reopen.

 


Closure came at the request of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which had urged the FAA to disinfect the tower to ensure it meets appropriate public health standards and coordinate with the local health authority and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on testing of all personnel at the tower.

 


“NATCA is adamant that the testing must occur immediately,” the association said but added it was encouraged that the FAA is moving forward with rapid testing of MDW personnel.

FAA Shutters MDW Tower after Positive Covid Tests

NATCA asked the FAA to close and clean the MDW tower after several technicians had tested positive for Covid-19. Chicago Tracon is handling MDW traffic.

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