by Lin McNulty
Although the Federal Aviation Administration issued additional “stop work orders” over the last twenty-four hours to construction and technology contractors for critical modernization projects around the country after Congress failed to pass an FAA bill, the Orcas Airport is—so far—unaffected.
The FAA halted dozens of major projects ranging from long-term runway safety initiatives to NextGen air traffic control research and testing. Yesterday contractors around the country were told to stop work on millions of additional dollars of construction projects to build and modernize control towers and other aviation infrastructure across the country.
Bea Von Tobel, Port of Orcas, states they have received no word from the FAA to require any construction shutdowns and it’s business as usual at the airport. “We are working merrily onward,” she says.
