Air traffic controllers at the Frederick, Maryland, airport will no longer guide pilots around this busy airspace.Under mandatory federal government spending cuts, this control tower - like 148 others at smaller airports across the country - is closing."For the tower to close we really would be treading backwards here,"Airport manager Kevin Daugherty said closing the control tower strips away an extra layer of safety at Maryland's second-busiest airport."When you have corporate jets mixing in with flight training traffic, gliders, helicopters, it could be a mess.So that is the reason why the air traffic control tower was built here and opened," said Daugherty.The government recently spent more than $5 million to build the tower, which opened last year.Now frustration is growing among contract controllers, like Mamie Ambrose, who are losing their jobs."The FAA felt it was necessary to put a tower here because of the congestion, and now, suddenly, it is not a safety issue.Suddenly they want to close a tower down that hasn't even been open for a year," said Ambrose.Todd Kirkpatrick moved from South Carolina to work in the Frederick tower.Now, like many contract controllers working at smaller airports, he will have to relocate to find another job."Now here it is, less than a year later, and they're going to close us down.I have to turn around and take what little money is left over and move back with no job,
