Air traffic tower closures averted

Niagara Falls, N.Y., among 24 airports across U.S. to be spared

The air traffic control tower at the Niagara Falls, N.Y., airport has been spared from closing as the United States plans to shutter nearly 150 towers beginning next month.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued its final list of 149 closings Friday, saving 24 towers, previously slated for closure, “because doing so would have a negative impact on the national interest.”

The Niagara Falls, N.Y., airport is popular with Canadian travellers who cross the border in search of cheaper fares and lower airport fees, often to sun destinations. Officials had said that the proposed tower closing would not affect airport operations as air traffic control duties would be transferred to the nearby Buffalo tower.

The cuts are in response to $85 billion (U.S.) in automatic government spending cuts, known as sequestration, which went into effect on March 1. The full effect of cuts likely won’t be felt until April, when government employees begin to take unpaid leaves as cost-saving measures. Officials have already warned passengers to expect long days, especially in busy airports like Chicago and New York, due to air traffic controller shortages. “We heard from communities across the country about the importance of their towers and these were very tough decisions,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a news release.

“Unfortunately we are faced with a series of difficult choices that we have to make to reach the required cuts under sequestration.”

Kimberley Minkel, executive director of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, said in a statement that it was pleased with the decision.