FAA Reverses Course on Donaldson Center Tower Closure

The Donaldson Center air traffic tower at the SC Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) will remain open after all.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which had planned to close the local tower and 148 others nationwide, will remain open thanks to recent Congressional legislation. 

Sequestration required the FAA to cut $253 million, resulting in the FAA’s plans to furlough air traffic controllers and close the towers, including two others in South Carolina, GSA Business reported.

Recent legislation in Congress, however, gives the FAA the ability to reprogram existing funds to keep the towers open, the paper explained.

SCTAC said it would not have been able to fund the Donaldson Center itself, and feared a closure would create safety issues and hinder SCTAC's economic development efforts, the paper said.

“Saving the contract tower program from extinction by using existing federal funds was accomplished by strong leaders in Congress and an impressive grassroots effort from across the country,” said National Airport Transportation Association President and CEO Thomas L. Hendricks, in a news release.