FAA MAY CLOSE AIRPORT TOWER HERE

Cape Girardeau's revitalized airport could be headed for a crash landing if the Federal Aviation Administration closes the air traffic control tower, city officials said Friday.

The FAA is considering closing 23 air-traffic control towers at non-hub airports nationwide, including the one in Cape Girardeau.

The move would save the government $5 million.

But Doug Leslie, Cape's assistant city manager, said the city would fight to keep its airport tower.

"We feel it is very important to the airport and the city and the entire Southeast Missouri region," he said. "We will do everything we can to keep the facility fully operational."

City officials have contacted U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Missouri's senators, Christopher Bond and John Danforth, to voice their concern.

The threat of the tower closing comes at a time Cape Girardeau airport operations were beginning to take off.

Leslie said the regional airport has undergone a number of improvements in recent years, including a remodeled terminal building, increased passenger boardings and Air Evac Aviation coming in as the facility's fixed-base operator.

"It has been kind of a constant struggle to get everything going in the right direction," he said, adding that the airport has turned the corner on people flying and in using the services, "and now this hits."

Leslie said the city hasn't received any official notice from the FAA, but the possible closing of the tower has been mentioned in aviation industry publications.

One publication has indicated the closings could occur by the end of next year. Another has said the closings could take place over three years.

The city operates the tower under a contract with the FAA. The FAA reimburses the city for the $170,000 annual cost of operating the tower.

Leslie said the city operates the tower for far less than the $250,000-a-year average cost for such operations nationwide.

"We feel there is already substantial cost effectiveness being done with the contract operation of the tower here," he said.

The Cape Girardeau airport has one full-time tower chief and three part-time controllers. The tower operates daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the summer months and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. the rest of the year.

The tower handles more than 25,000 operations annually, involving commuter, charter and private flights.

Leslie said Trans World Express could continue providing passenger service to Cape Girardeau. But without a control tower, the commuter airline would be saddled with increased costs for liability insurance.

Air Evac can operate its charter passenger and freight business, and its pilot training program without a control tower.

But Wayne Anders, Air Evac manager, said a control tower provides an important safety feature for the takeoff and landing of aircraft, particularly during inclement weather.

Anders said the tower helps ensure proper spacing between aircraft in flight near the airport.

It also provides student pilots a chance to learn about operating airplanes in a control-tower environment.

Anders said if Cape didn't have a tower, pilots would have to depend on radar information relayed from air traffic control centers in St. Louis and Memphis.