Section 1. General

  1. DEFINITION

A National Security Area (NSA) consists of airspace of defined vertical and lateral dimensions established at locations where there is a requirement for increased security of ground facilities.

  1. PURPOSE

An NSA is established to identify locations where voluntary flight avoidance is requested.

  1. CRITERIA

An NSA may be considered when a need to request flight avoidance of national assets or an area in the interest of national security is identified. When it is necessary to provide a greater level of security, flight in an NSA may be temporarily prohibited pursuant to the provisions of 14 CFR 99.7, Special Security Instructions. Where there is a need to restrict flight operations in an NSA, the required restriction will be issued by FAA Headquarters, System Operations Security, and disseminated via NOTAM.

  1. DIMENSIONS

There are no standard dimensions for an NSA. The dimensions should be the minimum necessary to promote the protection of the area identified.

  1. CHARTING

NSAs are depicted on aeronautical charts to inform pilots regarding their vertical and lateral dimensions. Additionally, a note must be included for publication on the chart adjacent to the NSA stating the requested avoidance altitude.

  1. REVOCATION

An NSA does not expire. However, it may be revoked upon using agency request or at the discretion of the Rules and Regulations Group, AJV-P2, after consultation with the Service Center OSG.