The Federal Aviation Administration has delayed the closure of 149 air-traffic control towers in the country, including the one at Renton Municipal Airport, until June 15.
The closure of the towers was scheduled to begin this Sunday, April 7, but in a press release Friday the FAA indicated it needed more time to resolve multiple legal challenges to the closures.
The tower at Renton Airport was scheduled to close on April 21.
The City of Renton on Wednesday filed a petition for review in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the process by which the FAA decided to close the towers. Many other airports across the country have filed similar challenges.
“We’re pleased to hear that the FAA has delayed the closure of our tower,” said Renton Mayor Denis Law. “Our No. 1 priority is public safety, and we hope that the FAA will reconsider this closure and resolve their budget issues in a way that doesn’t close the tower and potentially put the public at risk.”
The Renton airport is the sixth-busiest airport in the state, based on takeoffs and landings. Hundreds of Boeing 737s take off from the airport every year.
Last month, the FAA announced it would eliminate funding for these towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration.
As part of the process to close the towers, the FAA is consulting with airports and operators and reviewing appropriate risk mitigation, according to the agency’s press release. Extending the transition deadline will give the FAA and airports more time to execute the changes to the National Airspace System.
“This has been a complex process and we need to get this right,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Safety is our top priority. We will use this additional time to make sure communities and pilots understand the changes at their local airports.”
As of Friday, approximately 50 airport authorities and other stakeholders have indicated they may join the FAA’s non-Federal Contract Tower program and fund the tower operations themselves. This additional time will allow the FAA to help facilitate that transition.
The City of Renton has indicated that it doesn’t have the money to operate the tower.
“We will continue our outreach to the user community to answer any questions and address their concerns about these tower closures,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.
With the new deadline, the FAA will stop funding all 149 towers on June 15 and will close the facilities unless the airports decide to continue operations as a nonfederal contract tower.
