Cost-Cutting Gone Too Far?
Is FAA cost-cutting on VORs going to
harm the national air navigation system? AOPA is concerned that
recent actions in the Northeast may be a harbinger of things to
come.
The agency is considering decommissioning the Providence (PVD)
Vortac at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island and Bradley (BDL)
Vortac at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks,
Connecticut. In both cases, the VORs have to be shut down because
of airport construction. Apparently the FAA would prefer to save
money by not relocating and reactivating the navaids.
The VOR decommissioning shouldn't be confused with the FAA's
effort to identify no-longer-needed NDB approaches.
"Canceling some redundant, underused NDB
approaches after a careful review and considered comments from
users makes sense. It will save money without
inconveniencing pilots," said Andy Cebula, AOPA senior vice
president of Government and Technical Affairs. "There is no logic
to decommissioning two VORs that define heavily traveled airways
and instrument approaches into busy airports with little notice and
comment from the user community."
In a letter to the FAA opposing the proposal, AOPA said that it
is "seriously concerned that isolated local studies to decommission
traditional ground-based navigation aids based simply on the local
need to relocate the VOR on the airfield could have significant
negative effects on the National Airspace System.... The proposal
provides no indication of how the FAA intends to replace existing
en route and instrument approach services to users, or how users
would continue to access Bradley, T.F. Green, and surrounding
airports without the use of these navigation aids."
In fact, the two VORs support 10 Victor airways and 16
instrument approach procedures into multiple airports.
AOPA asked the FAA to extend the comment period to allow
"impacted pilots and airport users the opportunity to provide the
FAA with important information regarding the impact that these
possible decommissionings will have on air traffic safety and
efficiency."
In AOPA's opinion, the FAA did not provide enough notice or time
for public comment.
"There have been other cases in which the FAA has looked at the
cost savings from decommissioning a ground-based navaid without
considering the larger impacts on the system," said Cebula. "AOPA
is the leading advocate for transitioning to satellite-based
navigation, but it must be done in a systematic, logical way. You
can't just turn off VORs willy-nilly when circumstances present an
opportunity."