LIA backs effort for new air traffic control facility to be built at MacArthur
A Southwest Airlines 737 plane taxis past the air traffic control tower in this file photo. (March 16, 2010) Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The Long Island Association, an organization that supports business on the island, is backing an effort by local officials to bring a new FAA air traffic control facility to MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma.
The FAA is planning on consolidating air traffic control operations in the region to one new facility with updated technology and satellite systems. As a result, the air traffic control centers at Westbury and Ronkonoma will folded into the proposed new facility, whose location is yet to be decided.
Long Island officials and Congressional delegation have rallied behind an effort for the FAA to build the new air traffic center on the island in order to save and create jobs. If the facility moved off Long Island, nearly 1,000 jobs may be affected.
Earlier today, Islip Town Supervisor Tom Croci and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Mark Lesko announced at a press conference at MacArthur airport that they would be asking the FAA to consider MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma as the location of the new facility.
The LIA has been active in lobbying for the new air traffic center to stay on Long Island. Last week, the organization sent letter to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo asking for his support to keep the facility on Long Island instead of moving elsewhere in New York state.
