AOPA has served notice on the FAA that it will oppose any proposals that would eliminate the GA transition area east of the Philadelphia Class B airspace. The FAA has filed a notice of intent to modify Philadelphia's Class B airspace area, and while the notice of intent stops short of actually proposing a rule, it telegraphs the FAA's plans.
The plan would eliminate the current corridor between the Class B airspace and Alert Area A-220 around McGuire Air Force Base. In addition, the FAA would lower the floor of the Class B airspace on the east and west portions by 1,000 feet and raise the ceiling of the Class B airspace from 7,000 feet msl to 10,000 feet msl.
Over 800 based aircraft and nearly 338,000 general aviation operations would be impacted by the proposed modifications.
"AOPA strenuously opposes this 'straw man' design to expand the vertical and lateral limits of the existing airspace area," said AOPA Vice President of Airspace, Regulatory, and Certification Policy Melissa Bailey. "The changes would create significant economic and operational burdens on operators in the Philadelphia area."
While the FAA has acknowledged that a formal proposal would go through the normal rulemaking process, in its comments, AOPA stressed the importance of convening an ad hoc working group to review air traffic justification and develop an airspace recommendation that adequately accommodates the user community.
03-2-122x
