Cape airport explores funding for possible new air traffic control tower

As Cape Girardeau Regional Airport’s construction projects move along, airport manager Katrina Amos and the Airport Advisory Board may start to look at possible funding options for a new air traffic control tower.

Amos said the next big project on the organization’s list will be a new tower. During the board’s Thursday, April 11, meeting, she said the current tower suffers some line-of-sight issues.

“There are some hotspots here at the airport, like just over on the east ramp. There’s certain portions of the apron you simply can’t see,” Amos said. “From a growth and visibility standpoint, it needs to be located in an area where they have a complete 360-degree view of the entire airfield.”

Amos said there currently isn’t a funding source identified for a new tower. According to the city’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) plan, the cost of a new tower had a projected cost of $4.5 million, with no source of funding and no indicated date for the project.

She said finding funding will require help from local legislators.

“The sooner we can start petitioning for assistance with that — that’s going to be a heavy lift,” Amos said. “It’s going to require our legislators assisting us with getting that push forward.”

Amos said she had sent a “narrative” for a replacement for the tower to Mayor Stacy Kinder. She also encouraged the board to think of what they may want to see next for the airport as well as the tower.

The tower was constructed in the 1970s and has been solely owned by the regional airport and not by the Federal Aviation Administration since 1995. Federal FAA funding ended for the tower Dec. 31, 1995, according to Southeast Missourian archives.

Amos was asked at the meeting whether the airport could go back to it being a contracted tower, and said she had talked about it.

“It’s a process, and I have talked about applying for that. I’d love to. I’m just trying to complete some things … that’s a process,” she said. “But there’s pros and cons with both (with being contracted or not).”

Amos said the airport receives $167,000 a year from the state, which helps with some operational costs.

“But it’s not enough to help us make some significant improvements,” she said.

Amos said while the tower has had some equipment upgrades and rehabilitation, “it needs to be reconstructed.”