The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on August 7, 2026, the opening of a new 121-foot air traffic control tower at Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina. The newly constructed facility replaces an older control tower that was originally built in 1961, providing air traffic controllers with updated workspace and modern technology to handle increasing flight volumes across western North Carolina.
Over the past decade, air carrier operations at Asheville Regional Airport have expanded by more than 300 percent, establishing AVL as the third-busiest airport in North Carolina. According to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, controllers previously managed a sharp increase in traffic during recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene in 2024. The new tower is intended to support continued air traffic growth and operational efficiency in the region.
Construction of the new control tower was funded with $31.7 million provided by the FAA through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). In addition to the tower project, the agency awarded $10 million in IIJA funding to expand and modernize the airport's passenger terminal, which will increase total gate capacity from five gates to 12.
The FAA plans further technology upgrades at the Asheville facility by the end of 2028 under the Brand New Air Traffic Control System initiative. These planned upgrades include state-of-the-art radars, modern voice switches replacing 1990s analog systems, and the Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) for real-time tracking of aircraft and surface vehicles. Additionally, the agency recently installed a Tower Simulation System (TSS) at Asheville to project airport-specific scenarios and accelerate controller training.
