Politics & Government

FAA: Ramona Airport Control Tower Will Close April 7

The local air traffic control tower is the first of 149 towers to close in a four-week phase out period.

After an announcement last week was made that 149 federal contract towers will be closed in a four-week phase out, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that Ramona’s tower will be among the first to close on April 7.

Airport traffic control towers in Pacoima, Fullerton and Riverside will also close April 7, according to the agency.

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents Ramona, called the close a “disaster in the making” when speaking by phone to Jake Tapper on CNN on March 22. The East County supervisor said the federal government is putting the lives of 3 million people in the region at risk—given the tower’s function in helping fight wildfires such as ones that devastated the county in 2003 and 2007.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The announcement of the air traffic control tower closure came a week after Jacob urged residents to write to the FAA, discouraging the closure due to the airport's crucial role in serving the Cal Fire personnel, which responds to about 450 calls annually and are responsible for protecting more than 1.4 million acres.   

See also: Supervisor Dianne Jacob Urges Ramona Residents To Petition Airport Tower Closure

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In addition, a control tower in Lancaster will close April 21 and a tower in San Diego will shut down May 5, FAA officials said.

The affected San Diego County towers are located at Ramona Airport and Brown Field. The others on the list are at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, Fullerton Municipal Airport, Riverside Municipal Airport and Gen. William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster.

The Southern California locations are among 149 federal contract towers nationwide expected to close within a four-week period.

"We heard from communities across the country about the importance of their towers and these were very tough decisions," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week.

In early March, the FAA proposed to close nearly 200 towers as part of its plan to meet the $637 million in cuts required under budget sequestration.

The Ramona Airport traffic control tower costs a reported $500,000 a year to run.

The federal agency said it was targeting towers at airports with less than 150,000 takeoffs and landings and less than 10,000 commercial flights a year.

—City News Service contributed to this report.


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