In its fourth review of the 30-year-old Federal Contract Tower (FCT) program, the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General found the outsourced towers both less expensive and safer than those staffed by FAA controllers.
On average, an FCT tower costs $1.5 million less than a comparable FAA tower, according to the report. Those findings were based on comparing 30 randomly selected FCT towers with 30 FAA-operated towers.
