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Consultants propose RNAV route tweaks to shift some National Airport flights over Potomac River to ease Fairfax overflights
Summary
A design team recommended RNAV route adjustments that would keep an estimated portion of westbound departures over the Potomac and raise arrival altitudes in parts of Fairfax County. Staff say recommendations will go to the regional working group and likely to the FAA, but implementation could take about four years.
Consultants presented a set of navigation‑procedure changes aimed at reducing aircraft overflights of Fairfax neighborhoods by shifting some traffic over the Potomac River and other less populated or compatible land uses.
Jim Allardyce, the Vionaire consultant leading the study, told the Land Use Policy Committee the project’s design philosophy prioritized routing over the center of the Potomac and over compatible land such as industrial areas, major highways and government land, while maximizing altitude and increasing track variability to avoid disproportionate impacts on any single jurisdiction. "We believe we can map those designs back to this design philosophy," he said during the June 17 briefing.
The study focuses on the airport’s south‑of‑airport study area. For westbound departures that currently turn inland, staff proposed revised…
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