Airport reaches deal for FAA to perform control tower study for $80,000
PENN TWP — This month, the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport completed a step on its road to obtaining an air traffic control tower.
At a special meeting of the airport authority on Thursday, Sept. 25, it was announced the airport had reached an agreement for the Federal Aviation Administration to come to the premises and perform a study to determine the best location for the control tower, with the airport paying the FAA.
According to airport manager Stephanie Saracco, the estimated cost of the study is $80,028.
“The next step is for the FAA to determine where to place the tower,” Saracco said. “They’re telling us six to nine months from the time that this contract that we just voted on is finalized. We’ve done our job so far and we’re waiting for the FAA.”
The planned tower is part of the FAA’s Contract Tower Program, which consists of air traffic control towers staffed by private contractors rather than federal air traffic controllers. These towers are typically found at smaller airports.
Pittsburgh Butler Regional Airport was initially approved to enter into the Contract Tower program in August 2024. The approval required the airport to get the tower operational by August 2029 — within five years of receiving the letter of approval.
When, or if, the control tower comes to fruition, any controllers that work there would be employed by the private contractor operating the tower on behalf of the FAA and not the airport authority.
