About 800 instrument approach procedures (IAPs) to U.S. airports are underutilized or redundant and could be shut down, according to a Flight Safety Foundation report prepared at the request of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).1
The FAA’s National Aeronautical Navigation Services (AeroNav Services) currently maintains about 17,000 IAPs. The number is growing because of the ongoing transition from a ground-based navigation system to a satellite-based system — part of the FAA’s air traffic control (ATC) modernization effort known as the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen.
Eventually, all aircraft will fly satellite-based approaches — including global positioning system (GPS) and area navigation (RNAV) approaches — but until the aircraft are appropriately equipped, older “legacy” navigation aids will continue to function and to serve as backups if GPS becomes unavailable because of interference.2
“With so many IAPs …
