Will Affect Aircraft Flying Over The Central And Southern Portions Of The State

The FAA is developing new flight paths for aircraft flying over Central and South Florida. The project is called South-Central Florida Metroplex and the Agency will ask the public for input as it develops the new air traffic control procedures.

“We will involve the public as we design the new procedures, and conduct the required environmental review,” said Michael O’Harra, Regional Administrator for the FAA Southern Region. “Early next year we will hold public meetings across Central and South Florida. We encourage the public to attend the workshops to talk with experts, learn how proposed changes could affect their communities and provide comments that we will consider as we finalize the new procedures.”

Florida is the only state with four major international air carrier airports: Miami International Airport (KMIA), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), Orlando International Airport (KMCO) and Tampa International Airport (KTPA). The South-Central Florida Metroplex will focus on these airports, where operations have a direct effect throughout the NAS. The Agency also will propose changes to procedures for Palm Beach International Airport, and various satellite airports.

The FAA has not updated many of the air traffic procedures for Central and South Florida airports in years. While the procedures are safe, they no longer are the most efficient due to advances in technology. The South-Central Florida Metroplex will develop more direct and efficient satellite-based routes into and out of major airports, enhancing safety and flight efficiency. The Metroplex project also will modify some existing procedures at these airports to ensure that they seamlessly connect to the heavily traveled Atlantic Coast Routes between the Northeastern U.S. and Florida.

The South-Central Florida Metroplex proposes to replace dozens of existing air traffic procedures with more direct and efficient satellite-based routes into and out of major airports, enhancing safety and efficiency. The new satellite-based procedures are a key component of the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Metroplex initiatives are complete or are underway in 11 metropolitan areas across the country.

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires the FAA to identify and publicly disclose any potential environmental impacts of the proposed procedures. The Agency plans to begin the environmental review in spring 2019. We will offer the public the opportunity to comment on the proposal during the environmental review.   

As locations, dates and times of the meetings are confirmed, they will posted on the FAA Community Involvement webpage.

(Source: FAA news release. Image provided)

FMI: www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/metroplexes/?locationId=19