McKellar-Sipes Gets Reprieve Until Summer
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JACKSON, Tenn. – Set to close this month, the control tower at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport has been given a reprieve until this summer, along with 148 others across the country. Airports around the country are fueling up for a fight as the Federal Aviation Administration still looks to close 149 air traffic control towers. McKellar-Sipes is one of them. “The impression I’ve got, their still steam rolling to close the towers no ifs, ands, or buts,” said control tower manager Bob Snuck. But airports are not giving the agency permission to take off with their plan. With closures and job losses on the horizon, lawsuits are piling up, and McKellar-Sipes may be hoping on board. “There are about 40 potential lawsuits right now and we’ve talked about joining as a respondent in some,” said Steve Smith, Executive Director Jackson-Madison County Airport Authority. Some officials stress that while closing the tower will cause airport workers to loose their jobs, it could also cause job losses in the greater community as well. Without a control tower, we don’t know how that’s going to affect the corporate travel,” said Smith. “If they get to the point they can’t come in, they may move their business somewhere else.” Without a control tower, flights can still come and go, but the risks increase. That is why if airports lose the legal fight, many are looking at an alternative way to keep the towers open. “What we’re looking for is a long range solution,” said Smith. “It may be combination of state funding as well as some local money. We just don’t know when.” Meanwhile, those involved will wait, and see what comes of the delay. “Somebody at the FAA looked at these lawsuits and said ‘we can’t win these,’ so that’s what they’re taking this extra time for seeing what they can do to make things right.,” said Smith. “But, it may be too late for that.”
