Lockheed Martin has made a somewhat shocking announcement. After their recent acquisition of the nations Flight Service Stations (FSS), Lockheed publicized their intent to shutdown 5 Flight Services Stations. These stations include: Macon, Albuquerque, Denver, San Diego, and Oakland.
Lockheed stated this reasoning came primarily based on the reduction of general aviation aircraft flying and using these services. Since the recent rise in fuel prices general aviation travel has decreased. Lockheed claims that any briefer in any location is properly equipped to handle phone calls from anywhere in the country. But what about the pilots in areas where communication is limited? Particularly out west where 4 stations were just shutdown?
These closures won’t occur until Feb 1st 2009 maybe just enough time to express our concern? To file a complaint or make your voice heard you can contact Lockheed’s complaint hotline at 888-358-7782 (888-FLT-SRVC) Note: this line is also monitored by the FAA
From a business standpoint this may make sense for Lockheed however this message came without the consent from us, the pilots.
