Federal funding will be cut to six airports in Connecticut forcing the closure of the airports' air traffic control towers, according to members of the Connecticut Congressional delegation. The closures would include Tweed-New Haven Airport.
The federal money might be terminated on April 7 if the government cannot reach a deal to end the sequester.
The delegation released this joint statement Wednesday:
"We received word from the Federal Aviation Administration today that federal funding for the air traffic control towers at Sikorsky Memorial, Danbury Municipal, Groton-New London, Hartford-Brainard, Tweed-New Haven and Waterbury-Oxford airports may be terminated on April 7 as a result of the sequester."
The sequester, which went into effect March 1, is a trigger which led to automatic federal spending cuts after federal lawmakers could not reach a deal on deficit reduction measures and increased revenue. The $85 million in across-the-board cuts in military and domestic programs are the beginning of a $1.2 trillion reduction in spending over 10 years.
Funding cuts are expected to affect airports nationwide and could lead to flight delays, according to aviation experts.
