An earlier post discussed the upcoming trend of splitting up-down towers and moving the Approach Control to a remote Metroplex. Another post suggested that the first facilities to experience this change will be in the Midwest where low union resistance is expected.
Today’s article from Aero-News Network covers moving the Dayton, Ohio approach control to Columbus, Ohio, during the summer of 2010. Here’s the local coverage.
The article closes with, “Similar moves are being planned in other areas of the country as well”, although no details are provided.
Once they’ve done it with Dayton/Columbus, and with Mansfield/Canton/Cleveland, it’ll be an established pattern of successfully ”transforming facilities” and they’ll continue the process in other small-to-medium facilities.
The end state will be the contracting out of the remaining VFR towers and the loss of one-third of controller jobs in the terminal option.
The risk will be that Approach controllers in remote locations will not have the intimate knowledge of the local area that resident controllers will have. Non-standard operations – thunderstorms, icing, emergencies – will suffer because of the loss of teamwork that exists in a combined facility. Moving the Tower function from government and into the hands of for-profit corporations will have predictable results.
Essential Reading 2.0 to 3.0
Ever notice that these combined facilities tend to revolve around STARS installations?
And NATCA has done next to nothing to fight this until the last minute. Their biggest concern was making sure everyone ignored the imposed set of rules the FAA called a contract over the last three years. Meanwhile everything else went to hell. Local, regional, and national levels.