The federal government is delaying the closure of 149 airport control towers to deal with a lawsuit filed by companies that operate the towers under contract.
The first closures had been scheduled for Sunday.
In Texas, towers at smaller airports, including those in San Marcos and Georgetown, got emergency funding this week from the Texas Transportation Commission to stay open for 90 days.
Veronica Beyer of The Texas Department of Transportation said even with Friday’s announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration, the money from the Transportation Commission is still there for the taking.
“This is good news. We appreciate the federal government taking the time to reevaluate its decision and the funding approved by the Commission (Thursday) is still available for use, if necessary,” Beyer said.
In Georgetown, the city council voted Friday to put up 10 percent of that funding to keep its control tower operating. That was before the announcement from the FAA that federal funding will continue through June 15th.
