Runway Closings Certain Under U.S. Cuts, FAA Chief Says

The two busiest U.S. airports may have to close runways and limit arriving flights if automatic budget cuts cause furloughs of air-traffic controllers, Federal Aviation Administrator Michael Huerta said.

Huerta’s remarks to a House aviation subcommittee today in Washington dovetailed with forecasts by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association that runway closings in Atlanta, Chicago and Houston would reduce hourly flight arrivals by as much as 37 percent.