Honoring a commitment to extend the operational hours of the "mini route," the LAX tower has issued a letter to airmen notifying pilots of the intended hourly extension to become effective October 7, 2002. For the past several months, pilots have been able to use the corridor 0830-1230 (local). Since staffing demands have been satisfied, LAX tower is now able to offer the route daily from 0830-1230 and 1330-1730 (local).
AOPA and local users worked closely with the FAA last summer to establish the "mini-route," after the FAA closed the north-south shoreline VFR transition route due to near-midair collisions between air carriers departing LAX and GA aircraft using the corridor. The FAA acknowledged the near-midairs were not the fault of the GA pilots, but the safety-of-flight issues made closing the route necessary until an alternative could be established.
"AOPA is pleased that the FAA has honored its commitment to the local pilots for accessibility to LAX airspace," said AOPA Vice President of Airspace, Regulatory, and Certification Policy Melissa Bailey. "AOPA will continue to work with the local airspace user working group and the FAA to ensure charting of this necessary route will follow."
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