Saturday, May 11, 2013
FAA chief makes an announcement on funding.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, May 11
The control tower at Gwinnett County-owned Briscoe Field will remain open at least through September, according to a Federal Aviation Administration announcement Friday (May 10). FAA Director Ray LaHood said in a statement: ... the recently enacted 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 fiscal year 2013. The federal government's fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Briscoe Field's control tower, which is maintained by the FAA, had been among 149 towers nationally that were slated to be closed under federal budget cuts known as sequestration. Citing economic and safety …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Calling the FAA's decision 'unlawful,' Gwinnett leaders go the legal route to try to keep the facility's control tower operating.
The Atlanta airport -- the world's busiest -- would be affected by the closure of the FAA-maintained control tower at Briscoe Field, according to Gwinnett officials. Gwinnett leaders announced this week that they are seeking to join a legal matter that was initiated by Spokane, Wash., that is pending before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Airports in both areas face the loss of their control towers due to cutbacks that have been mandated by federal budget cuts known as sequestration. County officials said Briscoe Field "diverts a meaningful amount of traffic" from Atlanta's airport. That relief would not be possible if federal officials follow through with closure of Briscoe's tower. -- How do you feel about Briscoe Field's tower …
Monday, April 29, 2013
For safety and financial reasons, the county wants to join an existing legal matter with Spokane, Wash.
Citing economic and safety concerns, Gwinnett County officials are seeking to join an existing legal effort that would keep Briscoe Field's control towers from being closed. Officials announced Monday (April 29) that they have filed "a motion to intervene" in the Spokane (Wash.) Airport Board's legal action vs. the FAA. The case, which is before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeks judicial review of the FAA’s decision to defund federal contract towers. “Gwinnett County is seeking to join in this action as our interests are aligned with those of Spokane and other similarly situated airports with contract towers. While we are seeking to join in the Spokane action, we are also reviewing and monitoring the Reducing Flight Delays Act…
Friday, April 26, 2013
As pilots and business owners feared the worst should the tower at Briscoe Field be shut down, lawmakers worked feverishly to minimize the effects of the sequester on local airfields.
The House has passed a plan that could potentially keep the tower at Gwinnett's Briscoe Field and other private airfields open. The FAA announced in March it would eliminate funding for the towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration. In early April, the closure date was scheduled for June 15. Now, that date may be even further in the future, if at all. According to News-Press.com, the Senate agreed unanimously late Thursday to "allow the Federal Aviation Administration to shift $253 million from other accounts so it can end furloughs and keep towers open at smaller airports nationwide." For local pilots and business owners at the field, that’s very good news. “If we lost even one jet because of …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
All 149 air traffic control towers will continue operating until June 15.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, April 6
(Editor's note: the following is a press release issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.) The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it will delay the closures of all 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15. Last month, the FAA announced it would eliminate funding for these towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million budget cuts under sequestration. This additional time will allow the agency to attempt to resolve multiple legal challenges to the closure decisions. As part of the tower closure implementation process, the agency continues to consult with airports and operators and review appropriate risk mitigations. Extending the transition …
Monday, February 25, 2013
The control tower is among those on an FAA closure list.
Should the massive U.S. sequester budget cuts become reality, Briscoe Field in Gwinnett could be affected. The control tower at the county-owned Lawrenceville facility is among more than 100 federal air traffic control operations that could be affected by the looming cuts, according to a Gwinnett spokesperson. The control tower at Briscoe Field is operated by the Federal Aviation Administration. And FAA Director Ray LaHood informed Gwinnett Authorities on Friday that the tower could be closed, county spokesperson Joe Sorenson said Monday. However, Briscoe Field would remain open and operating even if the tower were closed, Sorenson said. And revenue derived from the airport likely would remain unchanged. --- Related content: --- Sorenson …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Propeller Investments' bid to take over operation of Briscoe Field fails.
After years of controversy, the privatization debate may finally be closed. Tuesday afternoon, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to reject a proposal from Propeller Airports to privatize Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville. Gwinnett County began the process of potentially privatizing county-owned Briscoe Field by issuing a Request For Proposals (RFP) in December of 2011. Do you think the Gwinnett BOC made the right decision? Tell us in the comments below. Propeller Investments, a company that had previously expressed an interest in bringing commercial flights to the airport, was the only company to file a proposal before the Feb. 8, 2012 deadline. The Propeller proposal was reviewed, evaluated and scored in …
Monday, June 4, 2012
Brett Smith calls for the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners to postpone any important votes until a new District 1 representative is seated.
While some may be pleased to see the airport privatization issue on the June 5 Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners agenda, Propeller Airports CEO Brett Smith is not. Smith plans to hold a press conference Monday afternoon "to address Tuesday’s Gwinnett County Commission agenda issue on his company’s proposal to expand the Briscoe Field in order to accommodate commercial passenger flights." In a released statement, Smith said, “Since the District 1 Commission seat is now vacant, no important issues should be voted on by the Commission until a new District 1 Commission representative is seated. It would be incredibly unfair to have a vote on a major issue affecting the whole county if that district is not represented." Should …
Saturday, June 2, 2012
After months of controversy, future of Briscoe Field may finally be settled.
A long-awaited decision on whether to privatize Briscoe Field may come Tuesday, June 5. The agenda for the 10 a.m. work session of the Gwinnett County commission lists an “approval to reject RP039-11, A Public-Private Partnership for the Lease, Operation and Improvement of Gwinnett County Airport Briscoe Field” under new business. The actual vote would most likely take place during the 2 p.m. business session. Do you think the county should reject privatization of Briscoe Field? Tell us in the comments below. Gwinnett County began the process of potentially privatizing county-owned Briscoe Field by issuing a Request For Proposals (RFP) in December of 2011. Propeller Investments, a company that had previously expressed an interest in …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
This week, the Airport Privatization Citizen Review Committee voted to keep Gwinnett's airport as general aviation, with no commercial flights. Share your thoughts.
- OPINION
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Saturday, May 5, 2012
The fate of Briscoe Field is still up in the air. The Airport Privatization Citizen Review Committee, which was set up by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners to study the feasibilty of allowing a private company to run the county-owned facility, voted 6-0 (with five committee members abstaining) to keep the facility as a general aviation airport. The proposal to privatize the airport has been hotly debated. Those favoring the proposal feel that allowing commercial flights at Briscoe Field would bring revenue and jobs to the county. But homeowners living nearby oppose the move, claiming the increased noise, air and automobile traffic would affect their quality of life - and their home values. The final decision rests with the …
wkinch
2:52 pm on Monday, February 25, 2013
Currently from 9pm - 7am KLZU reverts to an uncontrolled field (Class D to Class E) . There are no restrictions on operations and is not limited to commercial operations, you just lose the assistance adn direction of the tower. Busy times (Weekends, Monday & Friday) could be difficult without a control tower. Last I heard KLZU was the 3rd busiest airport in Georgia. more ›