FAA: Control Towers At Small Airports To Remain Open

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — Airport traffic control towers in Riverside will remain operational, after being targeted for closure because of federal budget cuts.

Funds that were recently included in the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will "allow the FAA to transfer sufficient funds to end employee furloughs and keep the 149 low-activity contract towers originally slated for closure in June open for the remainder of the fiscal year 2013, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Transportation released Friday.

The airport towers were expected to be closed beginning last month, although the closures were pushed back until June. Towers at Riverside Municipal Airport, Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, Fullerton Municipal Airport, Gen. William J. Fox Airfield in Lancaster, Brown Field in San Diego and Ramona Airport in San Diego County were slated for closure.

In early March, the FAA proposed closing nearly 200 towers as part of its plan to meet the $637 million in cuts required under budget sequestration. Towers at airports with less than 150,000 takeoffs and landings and less than 10,000 commercial flights a year were targeted.

Congress recently approved additional funding for the FAA after furloughs of air traffic controllers led to flight delays across the country.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)