For many years, the Marana Regional Airport has been in need of a control tower to communicate between pilots and aircraft, and follow best safety practices. What was previously a goal just out of reach has now made great strides toward reality, after overwhelming support from the community.
The Marana Regional Airport has received more than 50 letters of support for the construction of a control tower, from Marana-based pilots and flight instructors, corporate jet operators, members of the FAASTeam, Northwest Fire, Marana and Phoenix flight schools, the US Air Force, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and several members of both local and state government.
Since receiving these letters, several changes have been made within the FAA in regards to control towers. Most importantly, President Trump signed the FAA 2018 reauthorization bill which, among other things, removed a funding cap for control towers. Before this bill, the FAA had a maximum cap of $2 million for funding of control tower construction. A tower in Marana is estimated to cost $8 million or more. Under the old guidelines, the Town of Marana would have been solely responsible for securing funding from other sources beyond the FAA, which would have proved to be a difficult undertaking. The 2018 reauthorization bill allows for 91.06% of the cost of tower construction and communication equipment to be FAA grant eligible.
On June 4, 2019, the FAA re-opened the submission of applications for entry into the Federal Contract Tower (FCT) Program. The Marana Regional Airport submitted an application at that time, along with six other airports. Part of the 2018 FAA reauthorization bill requires that the FAA review and respond to applicants within 90 days, where previously there was no deadline, and a determination of eligibility would take years.
In December of 2019, the Marana Regional Airport was notified by the FAA that it was accepted as a participant in the FCT Program. A primary criteria of acceptance into the FCT Program is the computerization of a benefit/cost analysis. A ratio of at least 1.0 is required, which indicates that the realized benefit of a control tower equals the cost of the tower. The benefit/cost ratio for Marana was 3.41, meaning the benefits outweigh the costs by 341%.
The primary benefit of being accepted into the FCT Program is that Marana Airport is now authorized to install an air traffic control tower, and is eligible for federal funding to do so. Marana now has five years from the time of acceptance into the program to complete construction of the tower and pass an operational readiness test to FAA standards. Additionally, because of Marana’s high benefit/cost ratio, the FAA fully funds the cost of the Air Traffic Controller salaries, benefits, and equipment, which is estimated to cost $550,000 per year. As the Town of Marana will own the control tower, the Town will be responsible for the operations and maintenance costs, which includes utilities, repairs, and custodial services.
The next step for Marana Regional Airport is to complete a site selection study and environmental assessment as required by the FAA. Both studies require a great deal of public and government participation prior to moving onto the next step of designing the structure, and ultimately construction.
The Town of Marana is very excited about this news, but there is still a long way to go before a fully operational control tower is a reality. At this point, the first of four phases of the process is complete, as seen in the figure below:
Airport Traffic Control Tower Development Process
Thank you to the significant number of people who have supported the Town of Marana in this endeavor, and allowed us to get this far in the process. Your letters of support played a major part in our selection into the FCT Program. As we continue towards this goal, we will keep the public updated of any progress.
