FAA public meeting May 19 on CLT air traffic

The Federal Aviation Administration will hold a public meeting 6-8 p.m. May 19 at Charlotte Police and Fire Training Academy, 1770 Shopton Road. New air traffic control procedures for flights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) will be effective May 31.

Dennis Roberts, regional administrator of FAA Southern Region, will talk about the new Standard Instrument Departure procedures for flights heading to the northeast and southeast of the airport. The initial departure tracks are the same as aircraft fly today.

However, the departure track splits into two directions when the aircraft are at or above 3,000 to 6,000 feet. The third SID combines two procedures into one.

The FAA also is modifying a new Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR) for flights approaching CLT from the northeast. The flight track remains the same below 16,000 feet.

The FAA conducted an Environmental Assessment of the changes, which included three public workshops in the Charlotte area, in December 2014 and January 2015. The EA resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact in June 2015.

The changes are part of the FAA’s Metroplex initiative, a comprehensive plan to improve the flow of air traffic at airports in major metropolitan areas nationwide.

The FAA expects to hold another meeting in June or July to brief the public on additional air traffic procedures, which will be implemented July 24.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 4:29 PM with the headline "FAA public meeting May 19 on CLT air traffic."