FAA to close 8 Wis. air traffic control towers

FAA to close 8 air traffic control towers around Wisconsin due to budget cuts

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration says it will close eight air traffic towers at small airports around Wisconsin because of federal budget cuts.

The agency announced the decision Friday, a month after it released a preliminary list of facilities that could be closed. The Wisconsin airports are in Eau Claire, Janesville, Kenosha, La Crosse, Milwaukee's Lawrence J. Timmerman, Mosinee, Oshkosh and Waukesha.

Pilots will be left to coordinate takeoffs and landings among themselves over a shared radio frequency with no help from ground controllers, which they've been trained to do.

Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport was on a previous list of airports whose control towers could go dark during overnight hours. But that list hasn't been released yet and airport spokesman Harold Mester said Friday he hasn't heard any updates.