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Fact Sheet

FAA Identifies Integrated Airspace Alternative as the Preferred Alternative for the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has identified the Integrated Airspace Alternative as the preferred alternative for the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign Project. This alternative, among the four that have been studied for the last nine years, best meets the purpose and need of the project, which is to improve the efficiency and reliability of the airspace structure and air traffic control system from southern Connecticut to eastern Delaware. FAA made its decision after the agency completed its review of all the comments it had received on the project.

The Airspace Has Remained Unchanged Since the 1960s

• The airspace has not been adequately modified to accommodate the changes, such as increased levels of air traffic and the introduction and use of new aircraft types, that have taken place in the ensuing years.
• The proposed expansion of the airspace would meet those changes by allowing controllers to more efficiently direct the large volume of Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) aircraft to and from the major airports in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia areas. Those airports include Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, and Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania.

The Integrated Airspace Alternative is a New Operational Concept in Airspace Redesign

• Currently, the airspace is a layered structure, consisting of enroute and terminal airspace. Each layer has responsibility for a finite piece of airspace defined by lower and upper altitude limits and defined geographic boundaries.
• The preferred alternative would alter the structure that now exists over the project’s five-state area.

Operational Benefits of the Preferred Alternative Include:

• A reduction in the complexity of the current air traffic system operation in New York and Philadelphia.
• A reduction in delays, and the expeditious arrival and departure of aircraft.
• Improved flexibility in routing aircraft.
• A more balanced controller workload.
• An increase in the FAA’s ability to meet system demands.

The New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) examines four airspace redesign alternatives: Future No Action, Modifications to Existing Airspace, Ocean Routing Airspace, and Integrated Airspace Alternative.

Upcoming Public Meetings on Noise Mitigation of the Preferred Alternative

• Monday, April 23, New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott Hotel, 102-05 Ditmars Blvd., East Elmhurst, New York
• Tuesday, April 24, Holiday Inn Select, 700 Main Street, Stamford, CT
• Wednesday, April 25, Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel, 128 Frontage Road, Newark, NJ,   
• Monday, April 30, Concord High School, 2501 Elbright Road, Wilmington, DE
• Tuesday, May 1, Holiday Inn, Philadelphia International Airport, 45 Industrial Highway, Essington

The Alternatives

Future No Action: This Alternative assumes no changes to the existing airspace. Under this alternative, the airspace will operate as it does under existing conditions. The Council on Environmental Quality regulations require this alternative to be part of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement in order that it can be used as a benchmark to compare the magnitude of environmental impacts of the other alternatives.

Modifications to Existing Airspace: This Alternative includes changes to current routes and procedures that improve efficiency in the current airspace system. It increases departure efficiency to the west by fanned headings and by splitting a major westbound airway into two independent airways. Under this alternative, there are new departure headings for LaGuardia, Liberty Newark and Philadelphia. As an example, a more direct ocean departure procedure would be added for LaGuardia. This alternative enhances safety by reducing the complexity of the airspace and improves efficiency by expediting departures.

Ocean Routing Airspace: This Alternative is proposed by the New Jersey Citizens for Environmental Research (NJCER). It moves all departing flights from Newark Liberty International Airport over the Atlantic Ocean before turning in the direction of the next destination of departing aircraft. The purpose of this alternative would be to reduce noise impacts on New Jersey residents. The purpose of the redesign project is to increase efficiency and reliability of the entire New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia metropolitan airspace. The ocean routing alternative does not meet the purpose and need of the redesign project, but the FAA elected to include this alternative for analysis due to the concerns of the New Jersey Coalition Against Aircraft Noise (NJCANN).

Integrated Airspace Alternative: This Alternative integrates the airspace of the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (New York TRACON) with portions of the airspace of surrounding Air Route Traffic Control Centers in order to operate more seamlessly in a consolidated manner. This alternative has several phases. The initial phase enhances safety by reducing complexity and voice communications. It improves efficiency by reducing delay, balances controller workload and improves meeting system demands, among other things. A fuller application of this Alternative would involve full airspace consolidation and modifications to multiple departure gates, the addition of arrival posts and additional close-in departure procedures. This later phase represents a new approach to the redesign of the airspace from New York to Philadelphia. This approach would use the three nautical mile terminal airspace separation rule over a larger geographic area and up to an altitude of 23,000 feet MSL in some areas. In addition to the benefits under the initial phase, this phase would provide expedited arrivals and departures and greater flexibility in routing aircraft. This phase provides the most significant operational benefits. It is a wholesale restructuring of arrival and departure routes. Airspace delays are virtually eliminated and route flexibility is enhanced.

The FAA expects to publish the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) sometime in early summer and release its Record of Decision in August. A series of five informational meetings (one in each study state) will be held late next month and in early May to discuss noise mitigation associated with the preferred alternative.

Additional project information is available at the following website: http://www.faa.gov/nynjphl_airspace_redesign