Section 3. Airspace Planning and Analysis
- Airspace management functions historically have been widely dispersed. Responsibility for airspace management has resided with the regional/service area offices, while airspace changes for operational considerations have been handled by field facilities. The focus on airspace change and redesign has been local in scope and centered, for the most part, on single areas. It is apparent that changes in airspace configuration, architecture, and/or structure have national implications for air traffic control, traffic flow management, and the user community. Therefore, changes in the use or allocation of the airspace need to be coordinated at the national level.
- The details involved in airspace design must be centrally located. It is essential that efforts expended on airspace studies and proposed airspace changes be coordinated at the national level. This coordination will ensure that resources are effectively prioritized and optimized for the efficient use of the nation's airspace.
The air traffic planning and analysis policy uses an interdisciplinary approach to ensure the effective management of national airspace changes. This policy requires national implementation strategies; especially for changes designed to enhance user operations, maintain the highest standards of safety, generate new efficiencies, and effectively use our resources. With this policy in mind, the Strategy and Prioritization Team (AJV-S31) is designated as the air traffic office that will provide national oversight for:
- Formulating airspace efficiency policy.
- Establishing guidelines for airspace architecture and structural changes.
- Providing a high-level analysis of current and proposed operations for efficiency from a NAS-wide perspective.