Amendment of Class D and Class E5 Airspace; Revocation of Class E4 Airspace Dover, DE

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Federal Aviation Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>14 CFR Part 71</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. FAA-2025-0767; Airspace Docket No. 25-AEA-5]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2120-AA66</RIN> <SUBJECT>Amendment of Class D and Class E5 Airspace; Revocation of Class E4 Airspace Dover, DE</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> This action proposes to amend Class D airspace at Dover Air Force Base (AFB) due to the current designated airspace not properly containing instrument flight rule operations. Additionally, this action proposes to establish Class E surface airspace and to revoke Class E surface extension airspace extending upward from the surface above Dover AFB, Dover, DE, due to the airspace no longer meeting the specifications of its current designation. This action also proposes to amend the boundaries of Class E airspace extending upward from 700ft that no longer meets the requirements for its specific designation due to the amendment or cancellation of Standard Instrument Approach Procedures. This action would also update the coordinates for Dover AFB, Dover, DE, Delaware Airpark, Dover, DE, and the Dover TACAN. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before July 25, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Send comments identified by FAA Docket No. FAA-2025-0767 and Airspace Docket No. 25-AEA-5 using any of the following methods: *  <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal:</E> Go to <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> and follow the online instructions for sending your comments electronically. *  <E T="03">Mail:</E> Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001. *  <E T="03">Hand Delivery or Courier:</E> Take comments to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. *  <E T="03">Fax:</E> Fax comments to Docket Operations at (202) 493-2251. <E T="03">Docket:</E> Background documents or comments received may be read at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> at any time. Follow the online instructions for accessing the docket or go to the Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays. FAA Order JO 7400.11J Airspace Designations and Reporting Points and subsequent amendments can be viewed online at <E T="03">www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/.</E> You may also contact the Rules and Regulations Group, Policy Directorate, Federal Aviation Administration, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20597; Telephone: (202) 267-8783. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Christopher Stocking, Operations Support Group, Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, GA 30337; Telephone: (404) 305-5887. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Authority for This Rulemaking</HD> The FAA's authority to issue rules regarding aviation safety is found in Title 49 of the United States Code. Subtitle I, Section 106, describes the authority of the FAA Administrator. Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, describes in more detail the scope of the agency's authority. This rulemaking is promulgated under the authority described in Subtitle VII, Part A, Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that section, the FAA is charged with prescribing regulations to assign the use of airspace necessary to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of airspace. This regulation is within the scope of that authority, as it would amend Class D, establish Class E2, revoke Class E4, and amend Class E5 airspace in Dover, DE. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments Invited</HD> The FAA invites interested persons to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written comments, data, or views. Comments are specifically invited on the overall regulatory, aeronautical, economic, environmental, and energy-related aspects of the proposal. The most helpful comments reference a specific portion of the proposal, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include supporting data. To ensure the docket does not contain duplicate comments, commenters should submit only one time if comments are filed electronically, or commenters should send only one copy of written comments if comments are filed in writing. The FAA will file in the docket all comments it receives, as well as a report summarizing each substantive public contact with FAA personnel concerning this proposed rulemaking. Before acting on this proposal, the FAA will consider all comments it receives on or before the closing date for comments. The FAA will consider comments filed after the comment period has closed if it is possible to do so without incurring expense or delay. The FAA may change this proposal in light of the comments it receives. <E T="03">Privacy:</E> In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these comments, without edits, including any personal information the commenter provides, to <E T="03">www.regulations.gov,</E> as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at <E T="03">www.dot.gov/privacy.</E> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Availability of Rulemaking Documents</HD> An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded through the internet at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov.</E> Recently published rulemaking documents can also be accessed through the FAA's web page at <E T="03">www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/airspace_amendments/.</E> You may review the public docket containing the proposal, any comments received, and any final disposition in person in the Dockets Operations office (see <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section for address, phone number, and hours of operations). An informal docket may also be examined during regular business hours at the office of the Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, Room 210, 1701 Columbia Ave., College Park, GA 30337. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Incorporation by Reference</HD> Class D and Class E airspace designations are published in paragraphs 5000, 6002, 6004, and 6005 of FAA Order JO 7400.11, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, which is incorporated by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 on an annual basis. This document proposes to amend the current version of that order, FAA Order JO 7400.11J, dated July 31, 2024, and effective September 15, 2024. These updates will be published in the next update to FAA Order JO 7400.11. That order is publicly available as listed in the <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section of this document. FAA Order JO 7400.11J lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points. <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Proposal</HD> This action proposes an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to amend Class D and E airspace, establish Class E airspace, and revoke Class E airspace for Dover AFB, Dover, DE. This action proposes to amend the Class D airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,500 feet MSL for Dover AFB (DOV), Dover, DE, by increasing it to a 4.9-mile radius as the current radius of 4.6-miles does not properly contain instrument flight rules operations. Additionally, this proposes to amend the Class D airspace as the air traffic control tower will no longer be full-time by establishing Class E airspace that will be effective when the control tower is closed. Accordingly, the action proposes to establish Class E surface airspace extending upward from the surface within a 4.9-mile radius of Dover AFB. This action proposes to revoke Class E airspace extending upward from the surface within 2.7 miles each side of the Dover TACAN 177° radial extending from the 4.6-mile radius of Dover AFB to 5.7 miles south of the TACAN and within 2.7 miles each side of the Dover TACAN 013° radial extending from the 4.6-mile radius of the airport to 5.7 miles north of the TACAN and within 2.7 miles each side of the Dover TACAN 133° radial extending from the 4.6-mile radius of the airport to 5.7 miles southeast of the TACAN. This airspace no longer meets the requirements for its specific designation due to the amendment or cancellation of Standard Instrument Approach Procedures. This action proposes to amend Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface for Dover AFB, Dover, DE, due to the current configuration no longer meeting the requirements for its specific designation due to the amendment or cancellation of Standard Instrument Approach Procedures. The reconfiguration would remove that E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within 3.1 miles each side of the Dover TACAN 177° radial extending from the 7.9-mile radius to 9.2 miles south of the TACAN and the Dover TACAN 133° radial extending from the 7.9-mile radius to 9.2 miles southeast of the TACAN, leaving only the airspace within a 7.9-mile radius of Dover AFB and within a 6.3-mile radius of the Delaware Airpark and within 5.7 miles north and 4 miles south of the Smyrna VORTAC 078° radial extending from the 6.3-mile radius of Delaware Airpark to 10 miles east of the VORTAC. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Regulatory Notices and Analyses</HD> The FAA has determined that this proposed regulation only involves an established bod ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 14k characters. 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