Kentucky Regional Airport Towers Could Face Closure from Budget Cuts

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Credit Barkley Regional Airport

The control tower at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah could be closed in the next few months if automatic federal budget cuts occur on March 1st. The Federal Aviation Administration would lose about $600 million dollars from the so-called "sequestration."

In response the FAA released a list of 100 facilities, including Barkley Regional, Owensboro-Daviess County, and Bowman Field in Kentucky that could be closed. Barkley Regional Manager Richard Roof says the fields themselves would remain open, but there would be delays in bad weather while other towers guided planes in. Roof says the closures are not guaranteed, and says there are many possibilities for the future of Barkley Regional.