New Departure Procedures To Be Published by End of July
The Federal Aviation Administration is taking quick action after
complaints from controllers at Newark Liberty International Airport
of inadequate publication and awareness of new procedures
instituted in December to ease congestion at it and other New York
City airports.
As reported by ANN, southwest
departure procedures historically required aircraft to make a left
turnout after takeoff, but the new procedure allows controllers to
tell pilots to make a right turn after takeoff.
Lack of published information about the new procedures was
confusing pilots and led to several incidents in which aircraft
have turned the wrong direction upon departure.
The FAA had stated it planned to publish the guidelines by the
end of the year, after phasing in new arrival and departure
patterns that could ease congestion in the region as part of a
total airspace redesign. In an apparent change of course due to
pressure from controllers, however, the FAA instead will publish
the new procedures for pilots on July 31 according to a report by
the North Jersey Record.
"We looked at it and took action," said FAA spokesman Jim
Peters, who declined to elaborate. The National Air Traffic
Controllers Association celebrated the FAA's decision, which came
the same day The Record reported the story.
"Oh, thank God," said Ed Kragh, president of the Newark chapter
of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association after hearing
of the FAA's decision.
Surprised the FAA changed its mind so quickly, NATCA officials
hadn't expected the guidelines would even be published by December,
according to the newspaper. "Only yesterday, they said they weren't
going to publish anything until they were finished with the
airspace redesign," Kragh said. "That could have taken years.
That's insane."
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will send a Notice
to Airmen (NOTAM) outlining new flight patterns in the New York-New
Jersey region on June 5 and on July 31, the agency will publish the
chart for the procedures that pilots will use to update either
their printed binders or electronic flight bags.
The union noted it is still worried the FAA still lags in
implementing advanced technologies used to monitor and control
ground operations so pilots and controllers don't have to rely
solely on old-fashioned surveillance radar and related
systems. Such systems would reduce possible runway incursions
as traffic is slated to grow in the region.