Air traffic control tower opens at Jack Edwards

Air traffic control tower opens at Jack Edwards

Gulf Shores will host a Nov. 4 town hall meeting (6 p.m. at the Erie Myer Civic Center) in advance of its Nov. 10 ribbon cutting to announce completion of the air traffic control tower at Jack Edwards National Airport. Construction of the 8-story tower, located on the south side of the airfield, started in September of 2020.
The new tower was made possible through $6.13 million in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Cares Act.
“This full-service airport is an outstanding asset creating jobs and diversification opportunities for new and existing businesses,’’ said Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft. “It is vital to the development and continued economic growth of the area.’
Mayor Craft said the tower will allow for increased safety at the airport and the addition of commercial flights could lesson traffic pressure on Hwy. 59. With the tower, the airport will be able to accommodate 737-class jets carrying 180 passengers.
Several commercial passenger airline companies will now be able to schedule regular flights in and our of Jack Edwards.
“There are a lot of airlines out there that will not fly into an uncontrolled airport so this opens that door up, yes but we’ve needed it,” said Airport Manager, Scott Fuller. “There are a lot of aircraft that won’t fly into here because of the congestion.”
James Griner will lead a team of five other controllers as the air traffic manager at Jack Edwards. The tower will be operational daily from 7 a.m. ‘til 9 p.m. Griner comes to Gulf Shores from Key West where he worked for Robinson Aviation one of three major ATC contractor firms in the Federal Contract Tower program in the U.S.