New control tower coming to the Leesburg Executive Airport

By Grace Bennett

On June 26, an open house meeting was hosted at the Leesburg Executive Airport to publicly share information on the progress of constructing a 102-foot air traffic control tower at the north end of the terminal building. Having undergone an initial planning phase and a Siting Study, staff is preparing a Tiered Environmental Assessment to ensure that the vital tower will have minimal impacts on its surroundings.

The need for a permanent control tower arose in 2023 after the decommissioning of the site’s Remote Tower Pilot Program due to Federal Aviation Administration concerns. In that same year, a temporary control tower was installed—but the substitute is not sustainable in the long term due to its ground-bound position as a trailer.

The job of an air traffic controller is to coordinate with planes and other control centers to maximize safety and efficiency; the airport and community would suffer from a lack of having a control tower. “They’re directing planes within about a 5-mile circle,” said Airport Director Scott Coffman. “They ensure that the planes are separated and sequenced to the runway—and we want those services to continue.”

Though the remote tower was decommissioned two years prior, it is widely acknowledged that an airport cannot function at its best without a control tower, and the Leesburg Executive Airport has approximately 80,000 annual flights to be organized. The FAA and the Virginia Department of Aviation’s grant programs will thus be providing roughly 98% of funding for the project.

Staff has outlined expectations for the control tower’s appearance and location and has made visual renderings publicly available. The control tower’s floor area will be about 440 square feet, and although it is documented at 102 feet in height, that number is a maximum with consideration for antennae. The tower will more apparently stand at 81 feet. Although its coloration and final size has not yet been determined, it will be a square structure with an 8-sided windowed cab at the top.

Also included in the construction will be a utilities equipment room, a small parking lot, and an access road to the control tower off of the airport’s main parking lot.

Having documented the categories for potential environmental impact, staff has concluded that there will be no adverse impacts as a result of the project. Completing the site will temporarily cause the usual construction emissions, solid waste, energy/water/sewage use, and noise, but there will be no lingering effects after the tower is finished.

While there will be a minor change to the landscape from the tower’s presence, the project will result in an overall safety increase and noise reduction for plane arrivals and departures. The project will not allow for the accommodation of larger planes or introduce a new flood of air traffic. The FM waves used for communication—the same harmless signals used in standard radio—will have no negative impacts.

With consideration for the project’s many studies, the architectural design process, and the construction phases, staff estimates that the control tower will be completed in 2029. 

“That service is helping the community by controlling air traffic, providing a level of safety that the airport didn’t have the first 50 years of its life,” Coffman concluded. The Leesburg Executive Airport community can look forward to the consistent security and efficiency of flights in their area.

Photo: Grace Bennett