Destin Airport control tower still in a holding pattern

The federal government still isn’t saying whether it thinks a control tower at Destin Airport is a good idea.

In October, Okaloosa County Airport Director Greg Donovan told The Log he expected to hear soon from the Federal Aviation Administration whether the airport scored high enough to qualify for federal funding for building and staffing a control tower.

Nov. 5, Donovan told The Log he hadn’t heard yet, but would announce it as soon as he did.

Building a tower has been on the county’s agenda since the start of the century. Homeowners living around the airport have said it could improve safety by controlling air traffic; county officials have said tower staff could identify planes that buzz the neighborhood, which might encourage “cowboy” pilots to use another airport.

The FAA has repeatedly told the county Destin isn’t busy enough to need a tower.  The county’s 2007 application factored in Eglin Air Force Base flights that use Destin airspace, but the FAA still wasn’t satisfied with the numbers.

In January 2009, Donovan told the Destin Airport Compatibility Advisory Committee that for the next application, the county contacted pilots who’ve used the airport and asked how long they’d had to wait on the runway for clearance to take off. He said that happens frequently because of activity at Eglin and the Okaloosa County Airport.

The cost? $4 million worth of gas and staff time wasted in 2008 when planes sit idling at Destin or Okaloosa Airports until Destin airspace is clear. Donovan said that figure doesn’t include delays at Eglin.

The county, which owns the airport, submitted its application and the FAA gave Nov. 2 as the date they’d hear back. So far this month, the county has heard nothing.