Even though

Atlanta's new air traffic control facility is just over a mile away, planes

departing Falcon Field sometimes have trouble transmitting to air traffic

controllers based there.

The radio trouble,

which is sporadic, has only affected airplanes on the ground, said Falcon

Field Manager Jim Savage. Planes in the air have had no trouble communicating

with the new TRACON facility, he added.

The main result

of the communications problem is an inconvenience for aircraft seeking

clearance for take-off, Savage said. But a quick phone call to TRACON

alerts the traffic controllers to adjust their equipment to better receive

the signal, he added.

The communication

breakdown only occurs on the ground, likely because trees or other objects

block the aircraft's communication with the nearest FAA antenna, which

is located south of Fayetteville on Ga. Highway 92, Savage said.

An FAA spokesperson

told The Citizen that air traffic controllers handle traffic from smaller

airports like Falcon Field separately from traffic at other larger airports

in the area. That keeps the communications from aircraft at the smaller

airports from being lost in the shuffle.

Savage has

asked the FAA to consider relocating the antenna servicing Falcon Field

to the TRACON facility to improve communications with aircraft on the

ground wishing to take off. That antenna also serves other nearby airports,

including Newnan and sometimes Griffin, Savage indicated.

Currently,

the TRACON facility provides air traffic control service within a 40-mile

radius of Hartsfield International Airport up to an altitude of 14,000

feet. Tower controllers at Hartsfield Airport will continue to direct

aircraft arriving, departing and taxiing on the ground there.

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