Amendment of Domestic Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal Airways V-16, V-35, V-37, V-53, V-133, V-136, V-143, V-259, V-310, V-364, V-409, V-415, V-454, and V-605; Eastern United States
Key claim: The FAA is changing 14 East Coast air navigation routes because it is shutting down radio beacons in Charlotte, Foothills, and Holston Mountain and moving the Spartanburg beacon.
Abstract
(Rule · Transportation Department, Federal Aviation Administration) This action amends domestic Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) Federal Airways V-16, V-35, V-37, V-53, V- 133, V-136, V-143, V-259, V-310, V-364, V-409, V-415, V-454, and V-605. The FAA is taking this action due to the decommissioning of the Charlotte, NC (CLT), VOR/Distance Measuring Equipment (VOR/DME); Foothills, SC (ODF), VOR/DME; Holston Mountain, TN (HMV), VOR/Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC); and the relocation of the Spartanburg, SC (SPA), VORTAC.
Why this matters
VOR airway amendments are the visible footprint of the FAA’s long-running shift away from ground-based radio navigation toward satellite/RNAV routes. Each decommissioning forces reroutes for aircraft (especially general aviation) still relying on VOR, and successive final rules show which regions of the National Airspace System are being converted next.