ALBANY, GA --
Officials with the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport say that they have been contacted by the Federal Aviation Administration over what will happen if sequestration occurs on March 1st.

Airport Director Yvette Aehle says that they were notified by letter that in an attempt to reduce their budget by $600 million dollars, the FAA could be closing contract air traffic control towers, and Albany's tower is on that list of closures.

Aehle says that any funding cutback for the FAA contract tower program as a result of sequestration would have a severe negative impact on the safety at the airport.

Aehle adds that while the cuts are devastating, only five to ten people in Albany would lose their job as a result of the change. She also wants to assure the community that this doesn't mean they won't be able to fly in and out of Albany, just a change in operations.

Other steps the FAA is taking to reduce the 2013 fiscal year budget include having 47,000 employees take furlough days, eliminating midnight shifts in towers across the country, and reduce preventive maintenance and equipment provisioning and support for all NAS equipment.

The FAA says in the letter that tower shut-downs and furloughs are set to begin in April.

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