Planned control tower could change flying at Butler Airport
By the end of the decade, Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport could have something it currently doesn’t have — a control tower it can call its own.
The airport is in the preliminary stages of putting together plans for a new air traffic control tower under the Federal Aviation Administration’s “contract tower” program. The FAA notified the airport in August 2024 it was approved to take part in the program.
Presently, when pilots take off from or land at the Butler airport, they connect to the air traffic control tower in Pittsburgh. Just before they land, they make use of the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center, which is one of the 22 control centers responsible for governing the country’s airspace.
Under the terms of the agreement with the FAA, the tower must be finished within five years of the time the airport received its letter of approval in August 2024 — meaning it has until August 2029 to get the tower up and running.
Airport manager Stephanie Saracco said the process of getting the tower built will be a long and arduous one, with the FAA involved in each and every step.
“Right now, we’re pretty much at the mercy of the FAA's timeline,” Saracco said. “Until we know where it is to be located, we cannot even design the tower. We don't know how high it will have to be. There are all kinds of variables.”
As part of the process, the airport entered into a reimbursable agreement with the FAA in November 2024, in which the airport reimburses the agency for work it does to perform studies on the optimal design and location for the tower.
“We have to put money into an account, and they will draw down as they use the money,” Saracco said. “It is not a grant. We are paying for this out of pocket.”
According to County Commissioner Kim Geyer, the tower will be paid for mainly through federal funds, with sources such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
When — or if — Butler’s tower is finished, it would be staffed by controllers employed (at least indirectly) by the federal government, not by the airport authority.
“These would not be county nor airport employees,” Geyer said. “The tower would be manned by qualified air traffic controllers that are privately employed by FAA certified agencies but paid for by the federal government.”
According to Saracco, more than 87,000 flights either took off from or landed at the airport in 2023. Geyer said with a control tower of its own in place, that number could grow in the future.
“If given a choice between an airport with a control tower and one without, most pilots would utilize the airport with the tower for safety purposes,” Geyer said.
According to Saracco, the FAA’s federally contracted control towers aren’t exclusive to small, general aviation airports such as Butler’s. Even midsize airports in Pennsylvania, like State College Regional Airport and Johnstown Airport, utilize control towers with federal staffing, and both airports offer commercial airline service.
