The FAA made minor adjustments to procedures that are part of the South-Central Florida Metroplex project. The agency made these changes after it issued the final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact/Record of Decision (FONSI/ROD) for the project. The FAA conducted a thorough review of the changes and confirmed they do not warrant a supplement to the final Environmental Assessment consistent with FAA environmental policy.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 22 will implement the first phase of the South-Central Florida Metroplex, the agency's plan to move flights more safely and efficiently across the southern half of the state. Metroplex procedures will allow flights that are more direct and have more efficient climb and descent profiles.

The agency will publish 54 new procedures on April 22. Seventeen of the procedures will require additional training of air traffic controllers and automation upgrades at air traffic control facilities before they can be implemented. We expect this to occur by mid-August. While these procedures are being published as a package, they are not intended for simultaneous use. They will be available for pilots and air traffic controllers depending on weather and operational requirements. Air traffic controllers occasionally may direct aircraft off published routes for safety, efficiency or to reroute them around weather systems.

The comprehensive project will improve the efficiency of airspace in the South-Central Florida Metroplex area by optimizing aircraft arrival and departure procedures to and from airports. New routes include some changes in aircraft flight paths and altitudes in certain areas, but will not result in any ground disturbance or increase the number of aircraft operations at any of the airports. The agency designed the new procedures to follow existing flight tracks when possible.

Community involvement was a critical part of the Metroplex environmental process. The FAA conducted extensive outreach to the public before issuing its final decision on the project. The agency held 29 public workshops and two public comment periods totaling 120 days in 2019 and 2020. The agency also evaluated and responded to 3,239 comments in the Final EA.

The FAA issued the Finding of No Significant Impact-Record of Decision (FONSI-ROD) for the South-Central Florida Metroplex project in October 2020.

South-Central Florida is one of 11 Metroplex initiatives nationwide, and it is the final project to be implemented. The FAA will implement the second and final phase of the project in August 2021.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Finding of No Significant Impact-Record of Decision for the South-Central Florida Metroplex, which is the agency's plan to modernize air traffic procedures for 21 airports in the southern half of the state. The agency posted the document and the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) on the Florida Metroplex Environmental website.

The decision enables FAA to move forward with new satellite-based procedures that will enhance safety and efficiency. The FAA plans to implement the new procedures in mid-2021.

The project includes new arrival and departure procedures for Miami, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa and St. Pete/Clearwater international airports and 15 smaller airports.

The FAA conducted extensive outreach to the public before issuing its final decision on the project. The agency held 29 public workshops and two public comment periods totaling 120 days in 2019 and 2020. The agency also evaluated and responded to 3,239 comments in the Final EA.

The agency conducted the EA in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which requires FAA to identify and publicly disclose the potential environmental impacts of the proposed procedures.

The environmental documents are available at 117 public libraries in the study area. Residents who are not online may contact their local libraries to access the document.

The FAA published the Draft Environmental Assessment on May 11, 2020 and opened a 74-day public comment period. The FAA held a series of 12 virtual workshops from June 3–June 12 2020 to give the public the opportunity to learn about the Draft EA and ask questions of environmental and air traffic control specialists. The recorded workshops and associated information is available at floridametroplexworkshops.com

The FAA held a series of public workshops in April and May 2019, to gather public input on the project before it began the Environmental Assessment. Attendees viewed the proposed procedures and engaged with air traffic control and environmental experts. The agency accepted public comments at each workshop and through an online link which was available on this page for 30 days from the date of the last meeting in each city.