Atlanta Hartsfield-

Jackson
FAA Class ‘B’ Airspace
Proposal
Lee Remmel, Airport Director
Mike Van Wie, Assistant Airport
Director
 Things to Consider
• Please do not shoot the
messengers!
 Things to Consider
• Please do not shoot the messengers!
• Tonight’s briefing.
 Things to Consider
• Please do not shoot the messengers!
• Plan of attack for tonight’s briefing.
• Technical advisors.
 Things to Consider
• Please do not shoot the messengers!
• Plan of attack for tonight’s briefing.
• Technical advisors.
• One side of the story.
 Things to Consider
• Please do not shoot the messengers!
• Plan of attack for tonight’s briefing.
• Technical advisors.
• One side of the story.
• Do not have to do anything right
now.
 Things to Consider
• Please do not shoot the messengers!
• Plan of attack for tonight’s briefing.
• Technical advisors.
• One side of the story.
• Do not have to do anything right
now.
• Submission of comments.
FAA’s ATL Class B Airspace
Proposal

Prepared by Mike Van Wie

For the Chamblee City Council
February 11, 2010
 What is Class B Airspace?
• Surrounds the nation's
busiest airports
• Surface to 10,000 feet
MSL; circular diameter of
40 nautical miles
• Pilots must obtain a
clearance from ATC before
entering Class B airspace;
maintain radio contact
with ATC
• Aircraft must be equipped
with an altitude-encoding
transponder
 Comparison
Change This To This
 Important Differences
• Existing • Proposed
– 12 mile line – 15 mile line
– Altitude directly above – Altitude directly above
PDK – 8,000 ft PDK – 5,000 ft
– Altitude immediately – Altitude immediately
south of PDK–6,000 ft south of PDK–5,000 ft
– Altitude immediately – Altitude immediately
north of PDK–8,000 ft north of PDK–7,000 ft

Bottom Line – Reduces the airspace

available to all aircraft in and out of
PDK
 East Operation
December 11, 2009
0600 - 1200
West Operation
December 9,
2009 0600 - 1200
 Things to Consider
• If these proposed changes are to
accommodate the addition of the 5th
runway at ATL Airport, why are such
significant changes being made to
the northern airspace?
 West Operation
December 9, 2009
0600 - 1200
 East Operation
December 11, 2009
0600 - 1200
 What does this mean?
• Previously unpopulated airspace above PDK now
populated
• Visual Flight Rules aircraft
– Aircraft compressed into less airspace
– Same number of aircraft operating in less airspace
• Instrument Flight Rules aircraft
– On the ground delays for departing Instrument Flight Rules
aircraft
– More time at lower initial altitude for departing flights equals
more noise
– Earlier descent of inbound aircraft equals more noise
– All factors mean more fuel consumption – more emissions
 Environmental Process
• The FAA intends to categorically exclude
(CATEX) the proposal from a thorough
environmental review
– FAA reasoning
• FAA is only changing the airspace to capture aircraft that are
already there–airspace doesn’t make noise, only airplanes do

• Airspace changes at 3,000 ft AGL and above are typically

CATEX
• This reasoning ignores the environmental
consequences, both noise and increased
emissions, at satellite airports like PDK.
 ???Questions???

• Visit www.pdkairport.org
• Class ‘B’ Airspace on home page
– Where/How to submit comments
– Talking points (AAB draft resolution)
– GBAA article – we’re not the only ones
– More technical data
• Handout