COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
"Shaky data and unsupported rumor" are the cause behind a report that said Columbia's Metropolitan Airport faces threats of closure if the federal government goes through with more than $1 trillion worth of cuts in January, according to airport officials.
"Reports that FAA budget cuts would cause mass furloughs at select airports and that Columbia Metropolitan Airport would close are based on pure speculation and farfetched assumptions," said airport executive director Dan Mann in a statement on Monday.
"FAA is currently responsible for our control tower, yes, but as an airport we have a number of alternatives that would ensure our ability to maintain regular operations regardless of what may be happening with the FAA."
According to a study released by the Washington think-tank Center for American Progress, the automatic cuts to domestic and defense programs could close Columbia Metro.
The $1.2 trillion in cuts over a decade were agreed to last summer by congressional Republican leaders and President Barack Obama.
The group estimated that a 10 percent cut to the FAA could cause the agency to furlough more than 2,000 air traffic controllers. The FAA faces cuts of at least $1.35 billion.
"We are very proud of the service we provide and even more so of the progress we have made over the past several years as it relates to both passenger and cargo traffic," Mann said.
"We have every intention of remaining an asset to South Carolina's economy."
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