Too Many Approaches

One commenter expressed approval of the cancellation of a circling procedure only if all runways accessible by the procedure have a straight-in IAP with lower minimums than in the canceled procedure. The FAA replied that its policy is not meant to assure straight-in IAPs for every runway end, but rather to minimize redundancy. While cancelling some circling procedures might reduce airport accessibility, runway availability will be unaffected. You might have to fly further to get access to your approach, but its availability will stay the same.

Fred Simonds

Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is actively reducing Instrument Approach Procedures (IAPs) and eliminating many circling minimums to enhance efficiency and reduce costs within the National Airspace System.
Cancellation decisions are guided by a specific policy designed to maintain safety and access, retaining procedures that are critical (e.g., sole approach, part of the VOR Minimum Operating Network, or providing the lowest landing minimums).
Despite the FAA's view, the article's author and aviation studies emphasize that circling approaches are significantly less safe than straight-in approaches, especially those with vertical guidance.

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The FAA currently supports both ground- and satellite-based instrument approach procedures (IAP) totaling over 12,000 approaches—roughly double the number from 10 years ago. That many approaches are costly and require excessive resources to maintain.

To reduce costs in transitioning to NextGen, the FAA quickly targeted many instrument flight procedures as low-hanging fruit. This requires a delicate balancing act because continuity of National Airspace System (NAS) safety must be maintained. Let’s look at policies the FAA adopted when considering whether to cancel an IAP.