The air traffic control tower at Cobb County's McCollum Field is expected to be shut down due to sequestration cuts taking effect April 7.
McCollum was on a list of more than 100 potential tower closings that the DOT released in February. Airports that made the list have fewer than 150,000 flight operations per year, and are non-airline focused.
Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notified Cobb County that it would cut funding for McCollum's on-site traffic control.
Airport manager Karl Von Hagel told The Marietta Daily Journal that "planes will have to rely on plane-to-plane communications in order to land" after the shutdown of McCollum's control tower.
This will likely make the field a less efficient operation, and cause a "reduction in the margin of safety" that results in aircraft owners or pilots choosing other airports over McCollum, the MDJ reports.
Seven employees who provide air-control services, including six full-time and one part-time, will be laid off as a result of the sequestration cuts.
