Amendment of Class D Airspace and Establishment of Class E2 Airspace Over Hampton Roads, VA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>Federal Aviation Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>14 CFR Part 71</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. FAA-2025-2037; Airspace Docket No. 25-AEA-14]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2120-AA66</RIN> <SUBJECT>Amendment of Class D Airspace and Establishment of Class E2 Airspace Over Hampton Roads, VA</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 and establish Class E airspace extending upward from the surface above Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Hampton Roads, VA, as the air traffic control tower will shift to part-time operations. This action also proposes to update the geographic coordinates of the airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations in the area. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before September 8, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Send comments identified by FAA Docket No. FAA-2025-2037 and Airspace Docket No. 25-AEA-14 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> Marc Ellerbee, Operations Support Group, Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation Administration, 1701 Columbia Avenue, College Park, GA 30337; Telephone: (404) 305-5589. </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 airspace and establish Class E2 airspace in Hampton Roads, VA. <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 and 6002 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 would be published in the next update to FAA Order JO 7400.11. FAA Order JO 7400.11J, which lists Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic service routes, and reporting points, is publicly available as listed in the <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> section of this document. <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Proposal</HD> This action proposes an amendment to 14 CFR part 71 to amend Class D airspace for Langley AFB, Hampton Roads, VA, as the air traffic control tower will no longer be full-time. During the periods when the tower is not in operation, Class E airspace would be activated. This action also proposes to update the geographic coordinates of the airport. Lastly, this action also proposes to establish Class E surface airspace over Langley AFB, Hampton Roads, VA, at the request of the Department of the Air Force. 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 body of technical regulations for which frequent and routine amendments are necessary to keep them operationally current. It, therefore, (1) is not a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a “significant rule” under Department of Transportation (DOT) Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; February 26, 1979); and (3) does not warrant preparation of a regulatory evaluation as the anticipated impact is so minimal. Since this is a routine matter that will only affect air traffic procedures and air navigation, it is certified that this proposed rule, when promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Environmental Review</HD> This proposal will be subject to an environmental analysis in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, <E T="03">et seq.,</E> prior to any final regulatory action by the FAA. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">Lists of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71</HD> Airspace, Incorporation by reference, Navigation (air). </LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Proposed Amendment</HD> In consideration of the foregoing, the Federal Aviation Administration proposes to amend 14 CFR part 71 as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND REPORTING POINTS</HD> 1. The authority citation for part 71 continues to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">Authority:</HD> 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40103, 40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 1959-1963 Comp., p. 389. <SECTION> <SECTNO>§ 71.1</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>[Amended]</SUBJECT> </SECTION> 2. The incorporation by reference in 14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 7400.11J, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points, dated July 31, 2024, and effective September 15, 2024, is amended as follows: <EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">Paragraph 5000 Class D Airspace.</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">AEA VA D Hampton Roads, VA [Amended]</HD> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">Langley AFB, Hampton, VA</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">(Lat. 37°04′58″ N, long. 76°21′38″ W)</FP> That airspace extending upward from the surface to and including 2,500 feet MSL within a 4.4-m ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 11k characters. 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