Request Made To The FAA Last Week

National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James K. Coyne joined with ten other members of the Teterboro Airport Industry Working Group last week in asking FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt to increase the priority for construction of a new Air Traffic Control Tower at Teterboro Airport (TEB). The current control tower at TEB was constructed in the early 1970s as a temporary facility and does not provide controllers an unobstructed view of vital areas of the field.

"In terms of air safety, ensuring that tower controllers have an unobstructed view and the latest technology and equipment is vital," said Coyne. "Teterboro Airport is the nation's busiest general aviation airport, and Teterboro controllers need a new tower to continue to control the flow of air traffic safely."

The letter to Administrator Babbitt notes that in recent years the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has invested nearly $100 million on a variety of safety improvement projects at TEB, including new taxiways, lighting improvements, and the installation of a new Engineered Material Arresting System. Despite repeated requests that a new tower for TEB be placed on the FAA's Capital Plan priority list, the project still remains a low priority for the agency. NATA and the Teterboro Airport Industry Working Group hope that bringing this issue to the attention of the administrator will help make a new tower a priority for the FAA.

In 2006, the Teterboro Airport Industry Working Group assembled a diverse group of aviation industry professionals, including experienced aviation experts representing TEB's fixed base operators, airport users and tenants, and national and local aviation industry associations, to bridge the interests of the aviation community and airport neighbors proactively and voluntarily and to offer practical and workable local solutions that address the unique nature of TEB.

Other signatories to the letter included Net Jets Aviation Inc., Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation, Teterboro Airport, Jet Aviation, Signature Flight Support, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, National Business Aviation Association, Meridian Air Charter, First Aviation Services, and AFCO AVPORTS Management LLC dba AvPorts.

FMI: www.nata.aero, www.faa.gov