b'52 BOW OPERATIONSClass Is in Session program. When they leave here, they will be eligible for hire in The Control Tower Operator programa partnership betweenthe Federal Contract Tower program or at any non-federal control BOW, Polk County Public Schools and Traviss Technical College tower, Helms notes. At which point, they will have enough is scheduled to begin at the airport in March 2025. The 12-monthexperience that they would only need to work for an additional curriculum is specifically designed to train controllers, and to do itsix months to complete their one year of experience and be quickly. eligible for the direct hire program into the FAA.Both the Federal and Non-Federal Control Tower programsAs of this October, 11 students are enrolled in the academy. currently require air traffic controllers to have a control towerWere slowly ramping students into the program on monthly operators license and a minimum of six months experiencerolls, Helms says. Limiting enrollment to no more than four to qualify for a controller in charge position. Traviss Technicalstudents per month allows each to receive adequate time in the College builds applicable work experience directly into thetower. The program involves a lot of one-on-one training, similar to pilot training, Helms explains. Were limited by control tower position and hours of operation for students to get the on-the-job training. But unlike a pilot program, they cant rent a tower and build their experience.So far, students have not been exposed to remote digital tower technology. The program is first providing traditional tower training to ensure FAA hiring eligibility, but will later include training at BOWs remote digital tower. Sami believes this forward-looking technology could help attract younger talent to the fieldstudents who might not have considered air traffic control before seeing the digital system in action. This new technology speaks to the next generation, he says. When people see it, they think, Thats really cool. It captures their interestand that kind of excitement could go a long way toward solving the controller shortage.Nationwide Model Only about 600 of the 5,000-plus U.S. airports currently have air traffic control towers. The vast majority are without such support due to cost or failure to meet FAA eligibility standards.CROSSBut that could change, thanks to remote digital towers like the one at BOW. According to Swafford, the traffic volume and congestion at many U.S. airports suggest that they should NEW have a control tower. But the hurdles to get into the federal program and have a tower funded by the FAA are extremely high, he FRONTIERS laments. Its pretty cost-prohibitive for a local airport with local funding to build a traditional air traffic control tower. So the ability to have a digital tower will open the door for a lot of those airports to enhance the safety of their WSP is proud to provide program andairport and the flying public by being able to construction management to the Airfield Safetyget a tower they otherwise couldnt afford. Enhancement Program, the largest project inIt provides a really fantastic opportunity to the history of Tucson International Airport. airports all across the country.November | December 2025AirportImprovement.com'