The federal Department of Transportation Friday pulled Tweed’s air traffic control tower off the chopping block, saving the New Haven airport from closure at least until Sept. 30.
City spokesman Anna Mariotti announced that news in Friday afternoon press release.
Tweed airport’s tower had been scheduled for closure as a result of sequestration, the federal government’s deficit-slashing budget cuts. The tower is served by air traffic controllers under contract to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had its funding cut.
While FAA employees were spared furloughs last month due to passage of the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013, the plight of contract controllers at airports like Tweed was still uncertain.
On Friday, however, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the FAA will be able to keep all contract towers open — including Tweed’s — at least until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Local and federal elected officials had pushed hard for the FAA to fund Tweed’s tower so that the airport could stay open.