After a recent scare that threatened air traffic control towers at airports around the Bay area, officials in Hernando County said their tower will stay funded.
Airplanes takeoff and land at Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport all the time and about six months ago things got safer when the new air traffic control tower became operational.
There has been talk however, that things aren’t busy enough at the airport so the Federal Aviation Administration was going to stop funding the tower.
Airport officials said that’s not the case, and the airport has around 50,000 takeoffs and landings a year.
Another factor contributing to their confidence is the fact that the tower is less than a year old, officials said.
A lot of pilots like Mark Wiencek are glad to hear the tower will keep its funding because they said safety is most important.
“Primarily if there is a lot of traffic coming in the tower can provide separation for the airplanes as they arrive, keeping safe spacing,” Wiencek said.
Airport officials said the FAA also looks at safety and economic factors when they evaluate if a tower should be funded or not.