Announcement Surprises A LOT Of Pilots

Lockheed Martin dropped a bomb October 15, announcing it will close five satellite flight service stations early next year.

The company -- which took over the entirety of FSS services, for better or worse, in October 2005 -- told the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association a reduction in the amount of general aviation flying is directly responsible for the move, as fewer calls are coming in to its facilities. Improvements made throughout the FSS network have also streamlined operations, Lockheed asserts.

Most of the stations to be closed February 1 are in the west -- Oakland, San Diego, Denver, and Albuquerque. Macon, GA also will be closed. Lockheed Martin says it can maintain the same level of service because its system routes calls to specialists knowledgeable about the particular flight area, regardless of where the specialist might be physically located.

Most calls are routed to one of three hubs in Ashburn, VA; Fort Worth, TX; and Prescott, AZ. These hubs already handle all in-flight and flight data functions.

Despite those assurances, the news did not sit well with AOPA President Phil Boyer. "We are extraordinarily displeased that the FAA, which is supposed to be managing this contract, did not consult with its 'customers' before allowing this," Boyer said.

"AOPA believes that any time there is a major change in the system, the users should be consulted first, whether it be a VOR decommissioning, tracon consolidation, or changes to airspace. With no advance notice, we can certainly understand why some of our members will be incensed at this news."

Boyer also pledged the pilot advocacy organization would keep the pressure on the FAA to ensure that service to pilots does not degrade because of the closures. FAA senior management has told AOPA that it wants to know about any issues or problems pilots may encounter flight service.

"We want to work with AOPA to ensure that pilots get the level of service required in the contract," one official said. The FAA noted that since the closures won't occur until February 1, 2009, there is time to make adjustments.

Boyer said the burden of proof lies on Lockheed's shoulders. "Lockheed Martin's decision to close these five facilities may make business sense, but we won't know until we've had a chance to analyze it and talk with our pilot members," he said. "But if there is any degradation of service, we'll raise all kinds of trouble, even if we have to go back to Congress."

Ironically, this unexpected announcement comes almost one year to the day after Congress held hearings critical of FAA's oversight of the Lockheed Martin contract.

FMI: www.afss.com, www.aopa.org, To report an FSS-related problem or complaint, call 888-FLT-SRVC