Proposed airspace changes around St. Louis include AOPA and user input
The FAA's proposal to modify Class B airspace around Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) mitigates much of the impact on general aviation thanks to early input from AOPA and members of the local airspace user group. The modifications are needed to protect instrument procedures for a new runway expected to be commissioned in April 2006.
"The FAA and Missouri Department of Transportation conducted user group meetings to discuss the best way to modify the Class B airspace, and the FAA has incorporated many of the users' recommendations, including AOPA's request to keep the ceiling at 8,000 feet instead of raising it to 10,000 feet," said Heidi Williams, AOPA director of air traffic services.
"There were very few comments against the proposal at the recent public meetings, which shows how effective collaboration with airspace user groups can be. This an example of how the airspace modification process should work."
Airspace users and the FAA were able to come to an agreement about the floor of the airspace over Creve Coeur and St. Charles airports. The floor will be established at 1,700 feet to allow continued operations and transient overflights at both airports while still protecting the final approach course into St. Louis.
AOPA has been an active participant in the working group meetings and will file comments in support of the Class B design before the January 6 deadline.
Comments can be filed online or sent to:
Docket Management System
U.S. Department of Transportation
Room Plaza 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20590-0001
Identify FAA Docket No. FAA-2005-22509 and Airspace Docket No. 03-AWA-2 at the beginning of your comments.
November 22, 2005
