FAA Approves Airport Plan; Seasonal Control Tower on Horizon

Supervisor Bill Wilkinson announced a federal stamp of approval has been given for the town-owned airport that makes way for a seasonal control tower.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved an Airport Layout Plan for in Wainscott.

In a Sept. 6 letter, the FAA’s New York Airports District Office reported the recently-submitted town plan is “acceptable.”

“This fulfills a campaign promise—to get our airport into a more safe and secure position within professional aviation and just as important, to be a better neighbor,” Wilkinson said in a statement on Friday. “Now we can move on a seasonal control tower.”

Councilman Dominick Stanzione, the liaison to the airport, said the approval enables the town to obtain FAA’s authorization for such temporary seasonal control tower and designation of 10-miles of airspace around the airport under FAA supervision.

“For the first-time, East Hampton can have effective control of our airspace,” Wilkinson said.

He said the airport hasn't had an approved layout plan since 1989.

“This is a historical moment in modern town history,” said Wilkinson.