by Mary Grady, AVweb
With a new federal fiscal year about to launch on October 1, FAA officials are facing a $700 million budget gap, according to Bloomberg News. A new round of automatic cuts will take effect in the new budget year and may have more impact than they did this year, sources told Bloomberg, citing briefings with FAA officials. The FAA also may revisit its proposal to close many contract towers, which was shelved last year, Bloomberg said. Bell Helicopter also blamed the federal budget cuts this week in announcing it cut 290 jobs in Fort Worth, Texas. "Sequestration is having an adverse impact on our industry, making the future for defense spending more uncertain than ever," Bell CEO Jim Garrison said on Monday. The recurring budget issues also have revived discussion about privatizing the air-traffic-control system.
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