NY/NJ AIRSPACE REDESIGN

NY/NJ airspace redesign

NY/NJ airspace redesign

Introduction

Modernizing the nation's airspace and procedures requires a cohesive, high-level evolutionary strategy paired with specific tactics to deliver the desired products. The purpose of the National Airspace and Procedures Plan is to articulate the FAA's system-level strategy concerning airspace and procedures in order to deliver NextGen's safety, efficiency and capacity goals in the near-, mid-, and far-term (Adams/Congressional Letters, 2011).

Discussion

The National Airspace and Procedures Plan is a compilation of current and future activities supporting NextGen's goals. These enhancements in airspace and procedures provide their own benefits but also form the foundation for the other technological improvements in NextGen. The National Airspace and Procedures Plan offer a narrative description and visual depiction of current and future airspace, along with PBN activities that will evolve the National Airspace towards NextGen. The plan outlines the scope and expected impacts of each effort, lays out specific schedules, and supports multiyear funding.

Through 2012, the focus will be on continuing the legacy Airspace Management Program (AMP) airspace projects and meeting the PBN procedure and route commitments in the FAA's Flight Plan. The AMP legacy projects include the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia (NY/NJ/PHL) Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign, the Chicago Airspace Project (CAP), the Houston Area Air Traffic System (HAATS) Airspace project, and the Las Vegas Optimization project. In 2010, the annual procedure development goals from the FAA Flight Plan are 50 Required Navigation Performance (RNP) Authorization Required (AR) approach procedures, 50 area navigation (RNAV) Standard Instrument Departure/Standard Terminal Arrival (SID/STAR) procedures, and 12 RNAV routes. Throughout 2010, the focus on production goals will be transitioned to benefits-based service goals that will better support NextGen goals (Jim, 2011).

Introduced in 2010 will be Integrated Airspace and Procedures projects - the future direction for all large-scale airspace and procedures efforts. The Integrated ...