FAA makes unexpected changes to ATL Class B
The FAA has issued an emergency air traffic rule making minor changes to the Atlanta Class B airspace. Pilots need to be especially alert to the changes because they go into effect October 26 but won't show on standard charts until the next cycle to be issued in March of next year. (The FAA will issue interim "blue dot" sectional and terminal area charts soon.) The changes add two small sectors northwest and northeast of the airport between the 20 and 25 nm rings. The floor of these sectors has been lowered from 6,000 to 5,000 feet. "While this change has minimal impact on VFR flights in the area, the FAA failed to follow the standard process of consulting with airspace users before making a change," said Heidi Williams, AOPA director of air traffic services. "We've been assured that future changes will go through the ad hoc process so that users have a chance to participate." And more changes are likely next spring. The FAA is changing the airspace in order to keep IFR operations within Class B airspace when conducting simultaneous triple ILS approaches to ATL.
October 19, 2006
