New tower to increase safety at Reno airport
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
Flight safety has been improved and the future of aviation at Reno-Tahoe International Airport will take off following the opening of a new air traffic control tower, officials said Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s operation of the new tower started Saturday but was celebrated Tuesday at a ceremony outside the 195-foot-high structure.
“We have achieved a towering achievement,” said Krys Bart, president and chief executive officer of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority.
The new tower — three times the height of the airport’s old tower, which was erected in 1957 — gives FAA controllers a much-improved view of aircraft on airport runways and ramps. From the old tower, parts of the airport were not visible.