KTRV Fox 12 Airport Radar System Won't Leave Town

Airport Radar System Won't Leave Town

Boise, Idaho - TRACON is staying in Boise.

The news came via phone call into the mayor's office Tuesday. As Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said, it was a financial decision from the beginning.

It just turns out the FAA wasn't clear on just what might save them money.

"It's a great day for the city of Boise and for everybody that uses the airport," said Bieter.

The system, which stands for Terminal Radar Approach Control, guides planes within about 40 miles of the airport.

In 2006, the FAA said they wanted to move the system to the airport in Salt Lake City, claiming it would save taxpayers $2.5 million.

Right away to people in Boise, that didn't sound right.

"All the information that we had, both through the FAA and through some of the tower workers here, was just that it was many times more expensive," said Bieter. "Millions of dollars more expensive to move it."

Now FAA officials have reconsidered, as of Tuesday, they're keeping the system, and its nearly 30 staffers, in Boise.

From the Boise Airport Traffic Control Tower's point of view, if you're going to control Boise air traffic, you might as well do it from here in Boise. And they let out a sigh of relief Tuesday because they'll do it from here -- Idaho's tallest building.

"These gentlemen know the weather conditions, they know the reference points we use here locally," said Idaho National Guard Gen. Gary Sayler.

Sayler said, had TRACON moved south, the reliability of the system would have gone the same direction.

"There might be a few traffic delays, the traffic might not flow quite as smooth," he said. "They wouldn't be familiar with a lot of the visual reference points that our folks use."

Bieter gave credit to the Idaho congressional delegation, which was able to convince the FAA whatever numbers they were using were wrong.

"We used every bit of persuasive leverage we had, from appealing to the administration in the White House to Sen. Jim Risch actually putting in legislation to force a review," said Rep. Walt Minnick to Fox 12 over the phone Tuesday.

All involved are giving the FAA a lot of credit for being willing to reconsider.