FAA closing 5 air traffic towers in NC, 3 in SC

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Air traffic control towers at five small North Carolina airports and three others in South Carolina will be closed as the Federal Aviation Administration is forced to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from its budget.

The closures starting next month will not force any of the airports to shut down. Pilots have to coordinate takeoffs and landings over a shared radio frequency with no help from ground controllers.

The FAA says control towers will be closed at airports in New Bern, Hickory, Winston-Salem, Kinston and Concord in North Carolina. The control towers closing in South Carolina are at Myrtle Beach, Greenville, and Hilton Head Island.

The FAA is closing nearly 150 control towers nationwide that have fewer than 150,000 total flight operations per year.