The newspaper quotes Chet Moore, Groton’s air traffic manger, as saying the jobs of hundreds of controllers could be affected.
The air traffic control tower is scheduled to close in April, along with five other airport towers in Connecticut because of the federal budget impasse.
The Federal Secretary of Transportation sent letters on Feb. 22 to airports, trade associations and others saying the sequestration (partial government shutdown) will also lead to longer flight times because of fewer air traffic controllers.
The Day reported that U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, wrote a letter to the FAA saying "cutting a program that plays such an essential role in air safety is counterproductive and potentially dangerous."
The airport serves flight schools, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxillary Group, hosts VIP arrivals to U.S. Coast Guard Academy and visits to the Naval Submarine Base New London, the paper said.
Groton-New London Airport employed one full-time manger and five full-time employees, according to an October 2008 draft study. The airport is one of 23 open for public use in Connecticut, and was the state's first airport to open in 1929. The state owns and runs it, through the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
Groton used to be a commercial airport, but lost that classification in 2003.
