Courtney statement on FAA announcement that 149 contract towers, including Groton-New London Airport, will remain open

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today released the following statement after U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013 will allow the Federal Aviation Administration to avoid employee furloughs and keep open 149 contract towers, including the tower at Groton-New London Airport, that were originally slated to close in June:

"Today's announcement not only ensures the continued safety of the skies over southeastern Connecticut, but it also prevents furloughs that would have had an immediate negative economic impact on families in our region. This is good news, but it is also a band-aid. Unfortunately, we are not even close to a final resolution on defusing the sequester, which continues to threaten children in the Head Start program and seniors who rely on Meals on Wheels.

"Piecemeal fixes are not enough to stop the harm of this mechanism, which was never meant to be enacted policy. The consequences of failing to comprehensively defuse sequester with a balanced approach become more real with each passing day."