San Carlos Airport, in San Mateo County, will remain fully staffed with air traffic controllers after a deal was reached between the Federal Aviation Administration and a new contractor.
A new company, Oklahoma City-based Robinson Aviation, was set to take control of tower operations in February after winning a contract from the FAA, but controllers balked at an initial contract offer that was reportedly lower than the previous servicer.
The FAA said it would not provide temporary replacements while the dispute played out, leaving the possibility that the airport would have to operate without a tower.
To avoid that, the previous contractor, Serco, was temporarily extended by the FAA for 60 days while negotiations with the new servicer continued, allowing the county-owned airport to avoid a contingency plan to operate without a tower.
Robinson officially took over operations on April 1, according to airport spokesperson Gretchen Kelly, who directed questions about staffing to Robinson Aviation. A person who answered the phone at Robinson Aviation on Thursday afternoon said the company would not provide any information to the public on staffing levels or the nature of the contract dispute and resolution.
San Carlos Airport goes by the airport code SQL. It is about 20 miles south of downtown San Francisco and hosts about 500 aircraft and 25 aviation related businesses. Over 90,000 flights or “operations” were recorded there in 2024, according to the airport’s website.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, said he was glad the issue had been resolved and said staffing the control tower would make surrounding neighborhoods safer.
“This news is a relief to many in my district and I will continue to stay engaged with the FAA and local partners to ensure this solution is a lasting one,” Mullin said in a press release. “The San Francisco Bay Area has a high cost of living, and federal agencies need to account for regional differences when evaluating how to establish contracts for critical services,” he said.
There are nearly 20,000 airports in the country. About 14,500 are privately owned and about 5,000 are public. Only 520 of the total operate with a control tower, according to the FAA.
“We are heartened to hear that the FAA has reached a deal with our traffic controllers to ensure San Carlos Airport’s control towers are fully staffed for the foreseeable future and the skyways over San Mateo County are safe,” San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, whose district includes the airport, said in a press release.
Robinson Aviation has been operating towers since it first won contracts from the FAA in 1994 through its Tower Contract Program, which allows the federal agency to contract some control towers to private companies.
Robinson Aviation has about 600 employees operating towers in the South and Southwest in the United States, and the Carribean, according to the company’s website.
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