Oh! No! What will we ever do?  The sky is falling . . . !  At least some would have you think that it is.

It seems as if the last few years have had us bouncing from one disaster and emergency to another. The media and politicians are claiming the issues in today’s headlines are the most important the world has ever faced and we’ll be doomed if a solution isn’t found immediately!

First, one must understand that today’s social and financial problems didn’t just crop up over night . . . and a solution will not be implemented immediately . . . it takes time for problems to develop and be solved. Second, our government doesn’t operate like a business or a household. It ‘s constantly in a state of growth and we can only hope that it’s growth can be slowed. We must understand – to the politicians, a budget cut is not a reduction in spending . . . it’s a reduction to the increase in spending.

Some of the sequester imposed budgets cuts will lead to the most devastating events we’re being told. How will life be able to continue as we know it?

Well . . . these cuts are just a very small drip compared to the fire hose of spending by our government. Yet, the government will actually spend more this year than last. Any agencies that close will be due to the political allocation of resources.

This leads us to the issue of 149 Air Traffic Control Towers that are slated to be closed soon – entirely due to the “sequester.” How will planes be able to fly without these control towers? How will will our industry survive . . .?

Tower

Our industry will survive, and planes will fly. Life will go on and we’ll be just fine. Unfortunately, the level of safety for some operations at some of these airports will be diminished. Another set of eyes and ears watching out for air traffic is always a good thing, but the procedures for operating at un-controlled airports have been around for a long time and have served us well.

Unfortunately, there will be many in our industry that will feel the impact of these political decisions. Unfortunately, the government has not learned from the success of these 149. It appears that these Control Towers are all contract towers, meaning a private company operates them with civilian employees. It appears that that these towers have been able to perform a great job over the years. Providing the same service as a government control tower for significantly less cost. I wonder why that is?

Unfortunately, there will be a number of aircraft that will no longer fly into the airports once served by these contract towers, feeling that safety has been compromised. Unfortunately, some flight schools that are based at theses airports will move to other locations for the same reasons. Unfortunately, there will be many in our industry that suffer needlessly due to these political decisions. The contract towers should be held up as an example of efficiency and a model for our government to follow.

Will there be any accidents or mishaps? I hope not. As an industry, we must do our very best to utilize our freedoms as safely as possible. We must also voice our feelings to our representatives about the decisions they make about these issues. Let them know not to play politics with our transportation system.

Steve Wiley

VP Aviation Accounts