Why Don't All Airports Have Control Towers?

What factors determine tower installation at a particular location?

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, December 27, 2023 at 03:41 PM ET

Verified

Traffic load determines if an airport needs a tower. [Meg Godlewski]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA determines the need for an airport control tower based on the volume of aircraft operations, not whether an airline services the airport.
The majority of U.S. airports are nontowered, and pilots are trained to operate safely in both towered and pilot-controlled environments by prioritizing "see and avoid."
Control towers are not always open 24/7; pilots are responsible for consulting official resources (e.g., sectionals, Chart Supplement) to ascertain tower presence, operating hours, and frequencies.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Question: I went out to the local airport to sign up for flying lessons and noticed there isn’t a control tower there even though the airport has a terminal building and an airline that flies in. Aren’t airports served by the airlines required to have a tower because it makes them safer?

Answer: Having an airline service the airport isn’t the criteria used by the FAA to determine if the facility needs a control tower. Rhinelander/Oneida County Airport (KRHI) in Wisconsin, for example, does not have a control tower, yet it is served daily by a regional airline connecting to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (KMSP).