| August 12, 2024
Greetings Ward 11,
Sending a reminder about the FAA's upcoming public video webinars featuring presentations and updates on runway procedure changes at MSP. They will be held at 1pm on Wednesday, August 14, and at 6pm on Thursday, August 15, 2024. (These events will be available for viewing at a later time on the the FAA YouTube channel.)
Scroll down to register for the live webinars and learn more about this initiative.
In gratitude,
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will host two public video webinars to discuss departure procedure updates around Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) on Wednesday, August 14, and Thursday, August 15, 2024. These events will be held online. You may participate from your computer, or you may view the recordings online, at your convenience.
These events will feature presentations from the FAA, including regional leadership and air traffic control as well as representatives from airlines serving the airport.
Topics will include:
- Current management of the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) airspace;
- Future implementation of Area Navigation (RNAV) departure procedures at MSP;
- Input from the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) and the Noise Oversight Committee (NOC) on the design of new RNAV procedures;
- The environmental study process;
- Future opportunity to provide public comment on the planned departure procedures at MSP.
The first webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 from 1- 3 pm and the second will on Thursday, August 15th, 2024 from 6-8 pm.
Registration for these events is listed below:
Wednesday, August 14 Workshop Registration
Thursday, August 15 Workshop Registration
No pre-registration is required to view the event at a later time on the the FAA YouTube channel.
Background: Minneapolis VOR Update (January 2023 - Current)
The FAA is modernizing the national airspace system nationwide by discontinuing outdated ground-based navigational equipment and by implementing GPS-Based procedures to enhance safety and efficiency of airport operations. At Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP), these actions will help reduce delays while increasing safety due to more efficient communications between pilots and air traffic control.
The MSP Very High-Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) is one of approximately 300 ground-based navigational aids that will no longer be necessary due to the development and implementation of GPS navigation. It is scheduled for decommissioning in mid-to-late 2025.
The decommissioning of the MSP VOR, coupled with updated FAA safety regulations will require the amendment or cancellation of current departure procedures (implemented in 2015) and the development of new Area Navigation (RNAV) departure procedures.
- What is RNAV?
- The current procedures need to be modified to be compliant with current criteria and maintain safety and efficiency at the airport. These current procedures would need to be updated, regardless of the VOR decommissioning.
The FAA is working with aviation stakeholders to safely and efficiently replace the VOR’s function for MSP, enabling departing aircraft to fly routes that enhance safety and efficiency and with a focus on reducing aviation noise impacts.
- The upgraded RNAV departure flight procedures must be in place by summer 2025 when the MSP VOR is decommissioned.
- These upgraded RNAV departure are designed to initially use multiple headings on departure, as is done today, to disperse traffic above the airport’s surrounding communities.
The FAA is discussing these changes with members of the Metropolitan Airports Commission and the Noise Oversight Committee. Community input will be considered throughout the project.
The FAA will update the projects web page as details of the project are developed, including opportunities for community input.
Additional Background
The FAA is decommissioning approximately one-third of the nation’s VOR network. The remaining 600 VORs will remain in place in strategic locations throughout the nation to serve in the event of a satellite outage. You can learn more about the VOR Minimal Operational Network (MON) watching this video or reading this webpage.
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