Modesto Airport escapes FAA budget cuts

MODESTO -- The Modesto Airport’s air traffic control tower will not close because of the federal government’s budget cuts known as sequestration.

The tower is owned by the Federal Aviation Administration, which uses contract workers to staff it.

“I’ve been given assurances by our tower chief and his company that Modesto will not be impacted,” airport manager Jerome Thiele said. He said his facility was spared because its traffic includes air ambulances, corporate aviation and commercial flights.

The FAA recently released a list of more than 200 towers across the nation that could be closed in April because of budget cuts. Modesto was not on the list.

Slightly more than 800 aircraft take off and land at the Modesto Airport in a typical week. That traffic includes six daily flights by United Express between Modesto and San Francisco.

Thiele said a freight service also operates at the airport, in addition to 185 general and corporate aviation aircraft based at the airport.