Chandler Control Tower was established on May 17, 1995 by a Congressional mandate at the behest of the City of Chandler for the purpose of determining whether air traffic density warranted airport traffic service. The control tower was staffed with contract air traffic controllers under the FAA Contract Tower Program. The contract tower program was established in 1994. An air traffic control service company, Barton ATC International, located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee was awarded the contract serving the western states, the Pacific, and Alaska. In February 1997 Serco Management Services, Inc. purchased the Barton firm and has managed the contract since.
For approximately 3 ½ years air traffic controllers worked from a military mobile control tower of the Viet Nam era (TSW-7) that was set up on the south side of the airport. The TSW-7 was placed on two large cement electrical vaults 10 feet above the ground. It had space for only three people rowed up, shoulder to shoulder.
In April 1996 the FAA announced intentions to discontinue air traffic service at Chandler Municipal Airport effective June 30, 1996 because the city had not provided a permanent structure. However, the number of air traffic operations indicated a clear need for continued operation of the control tower. Therefore, on June 7, 1996, following a meeting that led to an agreement between the FAA and the City of Chandler, the FAA announced continued support for air traffic service at Chandler. The City of Chandler, with grants from the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Salt River Project, constructed the permanent control tower. Air traffic service was transferred from the TSW-7 to the new control tower on July 13, 1998. By the time the new tower was occupied traffic density required the initiation of a second control position. Chandler Tower had become the busiest contract tower in the nation.
Chandler Tower is one of eight control towers within the Phoenix Terminal Radar Control area (TRACON). The other control towers are: Phoenix Sky Harbor Tower, Scottsdale Tower, Deer Valley Tower, Glendale Tower, Goodyear Tower, Falcon Tower (Mesa), and Gateway Tower (Williams-Gateway). Each control tower has a letter of agreement with the TRACON defining procedures for integration of air traffic operations. Each control tower has legally defined airspace (Class Delta) around the airport it serves. Pilots are required by Federal Air Regulations to obtain authorization from a control tower to operate within its Class Delta Area and pilots must adhere to air traffic control instructions issued by the control tower. The Chandler Class Delta Airspace is generally defined as the airspace within 4 miles of the airport below 3,000 feet MSL, excluding airspace overlapping the Gateway Tower Class Delta.
Chandler air traffic controllers provide air traffic services to aircraft departing, arriving, and transiting the Chandler Class Delta Area. Chandler Municipal Airport supports intensive primary-student training in fixed wing and helicopter operations, aerobatics flights of high performance single-engine aircraft, and practice instrument approaches that are designed to enter the traffic pattern area from the southwest. The FAA is installing a radar display system that should be operational by mid-2003.
Chandler control tower operators are employed by Serco Management Services, Inc. They were selected from a hiring pool of applicants who possess a Control Tower Operator Certificate (CTO) issued by the FAA and who have air traffic control experience in the military and/or the FAA. The FAA issues a CTO upon successful completion of an intensive academic program followed by a real time demonstration of air traffic service during live traffic situations. Moreover, each control tower serves an airport uniquely different from any other airport, i.e. elevation, terrain, navigational aids, airfield lighting, radio frequencies, procedures, and so forth. An air traffic controller must commit to memory specific information unique to the control tower assigned and demonstrate acceptable performance before being allowed to operate independently under general supervision. The FAA oversees the operation, administration, training, and quality assurance of every facility and periodically conducts an on-site full facility evaluation. The same standards are applied to contract tower operations as are applied to FAA facilities.
Maintenance of the Chandler Control Tower building is provided by the City of Chandler. Operational equipment, associated with the provision of air traffic service, is maintained by a FAA approved contractor hired by the city. Periodic preventative maintenance, monitored by a FAA technician, is conducted on a recurring basis. Repair of operational equipment is conducted on a call-out basis, as needed.