RNAV Routes in Alaska
This page is updated frequently. Please review it often!
Status Update October 9, 2009
On September 28th Anchorage Center replaced the NOTAM removing all T Routes from use, with a NOTAM listing only those with remaining
charting problems. The list below shows the routes now operational.
As of September 17, Anchorage Center plans to turn on 17 Alaskan T Routes on September 30th. There is a problem with the charted Minimum
Enroute Altitudes which might cause aviators confusion on routes that overlay V-Routes, so these T Routes will remain NOTAM'd unusable.
The list of 17 is provided below. As of August 27th, there are 22 Alaskan Q Routes for operations above FL180.
Check the Enroute Charts, the NOTAM Handbook and NOTAMs for operational requirements.
Alaskan RNAV T Routes Operational on Sep 28, 2009
T219 Nanwak (AIX) – Dillingham (DLG)
T233 Ambler (AMF) – Evansville (EAV)
T235 Atqasuk (ATK) – Nuiqsut (UQS)
T237 Homer (HOM) – Middleton Island (MDO)
T241 LATCH – Level Island (LVD)
T242 Talkeetna (TKA) – Barrow (BRW)
T244 Anchorage (ANC) – Nome (OME)
T248 Gambell (GAM) – Emmonak (ENM)
T250 Bethel (BET) – Kukuliak (ULL)
T262 Kodiak (ODK) – Johnstone Point (JOH)
T264 Kodiak (ODK) – Middleton Island, (MDO)
T266 Fredericks Point (FPN) – Coghlan Island (CGL)
T270 Norton Bay (OAY) – Shishmaref (SHH)
T273 Fairbanks (FAI) – ROCES
T277 Bettles (BTT) – Point Lay (PIZ)
T279 Bethel (BET) – ALEUT
T282 FAI PERZO ROSII HORSI VENCE
The RNAV Routes Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on July 6. A correction fixing some small errors was issued on August 11.
See the
Rulemaking page here for more information. The Final Rule is effective on August 27, 2009
Updated: 11:43 am ET November 13, 2008
November 13 — GPS-equipped aircraft in Alaska can now fly more direct, efficient routes in areas lacking radar coverage. New procedures supporting direct random routes for GPS-equipped aircraft in areas of limited or no radar coverage have been approved for use in Anchorage En Route Center's domestic and offshore airspace. The change moves the FAA forward in meeting its Flight Plan goal of establishing an improved Wide Area Augmentation System-enabled Area Navigation route structure throughout Alaska. "What we've done is put in procedures that allow GPS-equipped aircraft to proceed from point-to-point direct," said David Davis, an air traffic control specialist in En Route Safety and Operations Support. That's important in a state whose far-flung and often isolated population depends on air service for the delivery of goods and transportation of people. Often hundreds of miles are flown to reach small villages. Prior to the new procedures being implemented, aircraft with GPS couldn't fly from point to point on random RNAV routes below 45,000 feet unless they were being monitored by radar. Even properly equipped aircraft needed waivers to transition from the en route airspace structure to GPS approaches. When they weren't being monitored by radar, pilots on instrument flight plans were faced with lengthy non-radar routings to fly between villages or regional "hubs." "They've always had to be on airways, based on ground-based navigational aids," Davis said. "Now we're able to take advantage of the precise, performance-based navigation offered by GPS." The air traffic IFR infrastructure can now be extended to many airports that were not previously served. Under the change, controllers can clear aircraft on point-to-point routings with up to 512 miles between points. Lateral separation between aircraft can also be reduced from 10 nautical miles to 4 nautical miles either side of the projected route's centerline. Although less constrained, that doesn't mean routes can be picked up wherever a pilot likes. Points that are used for navigation have to be named and depicted on a controller's video map or the charts located on control positions. Pilots also must maintain at least the highest of the different minimum IFR altitudes along the route of the flight being flown. But the advantages more than outweigh the constraints. GPS-equipped aircraft can now transition between established and random RNAV routes without radar monitoring, and approximately 200 GPS approach procedures will realize new efficiencies. Some airports will see an increase in the number of initial approach fixes that can be used, significantly reducing the amount of flight time spent on approach. The new rules will also give pilots greater flexibility in the routes that can be flown following a missed approach. "With the changes in place, controllers are able to clear an aircraft from Bethel, Nome or a published fix just outside of either community, direct to the initial approach fix of either's approach procedure," Davis explains. He adds that if a pilot executes a missed approach to holding, controllers are able to provide the pilot a direct clearance back to the initial approach fix without the need to return to a conventional ground-based navigational aid. "Alaska is very challenging and there's just not a lot of ground-based infrastructure for airways," Davis said.
Status Update October 21, 2008
The package containing the work accomplished this summer is at AVN for processing. We will see rulemaking commence later this fall
with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking document being issued. The planned publication date is July 2, 2009, with implementation by
September 30, 2009. See the PDF files below for routing graphical representations.
Representatives from the FAA gave briefings on this initative at the Aviation North Expo in Fairbanks last week. We had some good discussions with area pilots.
Status Update September 5, 2008
Stand by for pending update with the latest news. This should be out the week of Sep 8th)
Updated T and Q Route PDF files. T Routes (8-28-08) (PDF, 298 KB) Q Routes (8-21-08) (PDF, 174 KB)
Status Update June 6, 2008
ATO-E has issued direction to remove the Q Route Unavailability NOTAM. That NOTAM was removed on June 5th.
User comments were addressed in an FAA working group in May, resulting in most of the suggestions being implemented. The work has
been rank-ordered and submitted back to ATO-E. The package is being coordinated with AVN, and placeholders in their work schedule
have been saved for new and updated T Routes to be published on July 2, 2009.
Updated Q Route Plan - May 15, 2008 (PDF, 685 KB)
This graphic is large. Zoom to 200% using Adobe Acrobat to look at specific routes with easier legibility. We will provide the
updated T Route graphics as soon as they are completed by ZAN. This should occur by mid-June.
Additional input is sought and will be considered for subsequent route expansion. Please continue to support this effort by
assisting the FAA in identifying those areas that route structure offers value to the Alaska aviation community. Thanks to all those
who have been participating. Contact either Lari Belisle at ZAN (907) 269-1124 or Gary Rolf at AMTI (907) 271-5898.
ZAN's Vision for RNAV (T) Routes in AK (PDF, 903 KB)
ZAN's Vision for RNAV (Q) Routes in AK (PDF, 758 KB)
Combined T & Q Routes (PDF, 915 KB)
Text Input from ZAN (PDF, 84 KB)
This is ZAN's initial proposal to show what the enroute RNAV structure might look like in Alaska. It is not the final product. Use this data to base your feedback.
1st of 3 Graphics depicting Medevac Operations in AK (Anchorage, Barrow, Bethel, Dillingham) (PDF, 13.09 MB)
2nd of 3 Graphics depicting Medevac Operations in AK (Homer, SE AK, Kodiak) (PDF, 8.86 MB)
3rd of 3 Graphics depicting Medevac Operations in AK (Fairbanks, Nome) (PDF, 4.78 MB)
The three documents (above) depict Medevac use in Alaska. They are being used as a tool to help determine where RNAV Enroute Structure in Alaska might be published.
As part of an FAA Initiative to implement an Enroute RNAV Airway structure within the State of Alaska, the FAA is currently having dialog with various user
groups to gather information about possible RNAV routing within the state. These routes are called T and Q and are similar in nature to Victor and Jet Routes.
There are currently 41 charted RNAV routes in Alaska, with 33 T routes (below 18,000' MSL) and 8 Q routes (above 18,000' MSL). The FAA is seeking to improve
on the charted routing and will bring them into use by Sep 30, 2009. In the interim, you can help. Review the slides above, and contact your Alaska flying organization representatives, such as
AOPA (AK), Alaska Aviation Safety Foundation, Alaska Air Carriers Association, or contact us directly (below). Watch this page as more information becomes
available.
RNAV operations are the future in aviation. Right now you can fly IFR instrument procedures with no land based navaid backup requirement. You will be able to take off, fly to your
destination and land at some airports in weather that is around 300 ft. ceiling and 3/4 mile visability - all using RNAV equipment on board. The current rule in Alaska for
flying on T Routes is to have Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) compliant equipment on board. As soon as the FAA establishes separation standards and makes
some modification to low altitude alerting automation equipment, these routes will become usable. In the meantime, we want to improve on what is currently
charted. Are the routes the most efficiently designed (point a to b)? Will they be used? By whom? One measure is the Alaskan medical evacuation operation. There are 15 communities serving as medical hubs with medical
facilities in place to treat patients from outlying communities. The graphics above depict the 15 hub communities and the communities they each serve.
Other measures being evaluated are an airport's future IFR status, navigation aid decommissioning plans, and routing of current IFR and VFR operations.
The FAA would like your feedback to help establish the most efficient route structure.
October 30 User Group Meeting Notes (PDF, 72 KB)
September 6 User Group Meeting Notes (PDF, 89 KB)
August 3 User Group Meeting Notes (PDF, 2.01 MB)
May 30 User Group Meeting Notes (PDF, 512 KB)
Status Update October 9, 2009
Alaskan RNAV T Routes Operational on Sep 28, 2009
T219 Nanwak (AIX) – Dillingham (DLG)T233 Ambler (AMF) – Evansville (EAV)
T235 Atqasuk (ATK) – Nuiqsut (UQS)
T237 Homer (HOM) – Middleton Island (MDO)
T241 LATCH – Level Island (LVD)
T242 Talkeetna (TKA) – Barrow (BRW)
T244 Anchorage (ANC) – Nome (OME)
T248 Gambell (GAM) – Emmonak (ENM)
T250 Bethel (BET) – Kukuliak (ULL)
T262 Kodiak (ODK) – Johnstone Point (JOH)
T264 Kodiak (ODK) – Middleton Island, (MDO)
T266 Fredericks Point (FPN) – Coghlan Island (CGL)
T270 Norton Bay (OAY) – Shishmaref (SHH)
T273 Fairbanks (FAI) – ROCES
T277 Bettles (BTT) – Point Lay (PIZ)
T279 Bethel (BET) – ALEUT
T282 FAI PERZO ROSII HORSI VENCE
Alaska Is ‘North to the Future’ in Flying
This article below was reported on the ATO web site on Nov 13, 2008.Updated: 11:43 am ET November 13, 2008
November 13 — GPS-equipped aircraft in Alaska can now fly more direct, efficient routes in areas lacking radar coverage. New procedures supporting direct random routes for GPS-equipped aircraft in areas of limited or no radar coverage have been approved for use in Anchorage En Route Center's domestic and offshore airspace. The change moves the FAA forward in meeting its Flight Plan goal of establishing an improved Wide Area Augmentation System-enabled Area Navigation route structure throughout Alaska. "What we've done is put in procedures that allow GPS-equipped aircraft to proceed from point-to-point direct," said David Davis, an air traffic control specialist in En Route Safety and Operations Support. That's important in a state whose far-flung and often isolated population depends on air service for the delivery of goods and transportation of people. Often hundreds of miles are flown to reach small villages. Prior to the new procedures being implemented, aircraft with GPS couldn't fly from point to point on random RNAV routes below 45,000 feet unless they were being monitored by radar. Even properly equipped aircraft needed waivers to transition from the en route airspace structure to GPS approaches. When they weren't being monitored by radar, pilots on instrument flight plans were faced with lengthy non-radar routings to fly between villages or regional "hubs." "They've always had to be on airways, based on ground-based navigational aids," Davis said. "Now we're able to take advantage of the precise, performance-based navigation offered by GPS." The air traffic IFR infrastructure can now be extended to many airports that were not previously served. Under the change, controllers can clear aircraft on point-to-point routings with up to 512 miles between points. Lateral separation between aircraft can also be reduced from 10 nautical miles to 4 nautical miles either side of the projected route's centerline. Although less constrained, that doesn't mean routes can be picked up wherever a pilot likes. Points that are used for navigation have to be named and depicted on a controller's video map or the charts located on control positions. Pilots also must maintain at least the highest of the different minimum IFR altitudes along the route of the flight being flown. But the advantages more than outweigh the constraints. GPS-equipped aircraft can now transition between established and random RNAV routes without radar monitoring, and approximately 200 GPS approach procedures will realize new efficiencies. Some airports will see an increase in the number of initial approach fixes that can be used, significantly reducing the amount of flight time spent on approach. The new rules will also give pilots greater flexibility in the routes that can be flown following a missed approach. "With the changes in place, controllers are able to clear an aircraft from Bethel, Nome or a published fix just outside of either community, direct to the initial approach fix of either's approach procedure," Davis explains. He adds that if a pilot executes a missed approach to holding, controllers are able to provide the pilot a direct clearance back to the initial approach fix without the need to return to a conventional ground-based navigational aid. "Alaska is very challenging and there's just not a lot of ground-based infrastructure for airways," Davis said.
Status Update October 21, 2008
Representatives from the FAA gave briefings on this initative at the Aviation North Expo in Fairbanks last week. We had some good discussions with area pilots.
Status Update September 5, 2008
Updated T and Q Route PDF files. T Routes (8-28-08) (PDF, 298 KB) Q Routes (8-21-08) (PDF, 174 KB)
Status Update June 6, 2008
ZAN's RNAV Airway Vision (Updated Nov 13, 2007)
This is ZAN's initial proposal to show what the enroute RNAV structure might look like in Alaska. It is not the final product. Use this data to base your feedback.
Review the links above and provide comment
Medevac Graphics