Covering Louisiana
Shreveport Downtown airport tower slated to close, Chennault spared
Posted: Mar 22, 2013 2:46 PM by Dwayne Fatherree
Updated: Mar 22, 2013 2:54 PM
Two airport towers in Louisiana shared different fates - one to stay open, the other to close - when the Federal Aviation Administration announced its list Friday of towers to be closed because of sequester-driven budget cuts.
In Lake Charles, Chennault International will remain open, but the Shreveport Downtown tower will be shuttered.
Shreveport's is one of 149 towers targeted for closure. Chennault is one of 40 sites that had been considered initially, but spared, from closing.
LINKS: See full closure list | See list of sites spared from closing
A four-week, phased closure of the 149 control towers will begin on April 7, the FAA said.
The FAA must cut nearly $600 million from its nearly $48 billion budget this fiscal year. Because the majority of its 47,000 employees are air traffic controllers, it is impossible to cut its budget without affecting controllers, the agency says.
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