TACOMA, Wash. – The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization wants Serco, Inc., the British company that owns the air traffic control contract at Tacoma Narrow Airport (KTIW), to add staff. In a story in The (Tacoma) News Tribune, county officials report the airport is on pace to record 65,000 operations in 2015. That would represent a 68% increase from 2013’s low point of 38,7000 operations.
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Instead of adding ATS tower staff, FAA should be exploring using a remote tower at KTIW, just like already being successfully done in other parts of the world, or alternately, just using CTAF there. In fact, for other than Cpt and IFR flight plan cancellation, which can readily be done by RCO anyway, there was no need for a tower at KTIW in the first place. If faced with paying the fully allocated costs for that new tower staffing service, it is highly doubtful that any present or prospective KTIW users would be willing to pay for any increased staffing service, if even be willing to pay for the present staffing level and service. KAWO, KPWT, KCLM and other similar airports don’t have towers, and KTIW shouldn’t need one either.
While based at KPAE and KPWT for many years I visited the Puget Sound airports you refer to (and have probably talked to you on the CTAF): I agree with you.
KTIW, same as KSFF, serves a relatively small pilot population. Local politicians with delusions of grandeur (also called “boosterism”) equate a towered airport with national importance and are probably behind this plea for more personnel..
Based on my personal experience, KTIW is oft visited by students with CFIs on bounce-and-go training jaunts. Same as Felts Field in Spokane, you see a few light bizjet operations, but not enough to warrant a large tower staff. Even Renton and Paine, both of which essentially serve the needs of Boeing, have long periods of siesta time each day.