Airservices Australia has proposed that Class E airspace over the top of Avalon Airport be removed by November 2017.
Class E airspace currently exists over the Class D, which has allowed VFR flights to transit overhead Avalon without having to request an airways clearance.
The proposal, presented to the Victorian Regional Airspace and Procedures Advisory Committee (RAPAC) on 10 November, would see the current Class D airspace extended from the surface up to the 4500 ft lower level of the overlying Class C.
An extra Class D control step would be added to the west of Avalon from 2500 ft up to 4500 ft.
According to Airservices, the change will be necessary because of an increase in training flights both IFR and VFR, an increase in domestic RPT operations and to allow for future international flights.
The proposal lists the following benefits for removing the Class E.
- Segregation of IFR and VFR operations
- Standard area for training segregated from IFR approaches
- Continuous airspace structure H24
- Simplify charting
- After tower hours operations similar to EN operations
- Reduce PIC workload during final and initial flight stages
- Minimise interruptions to IFR training flights
- Simplify airspace classification and service provision
- Simplify procedures for itinerant RPT operations.
Under the existing airspace design at Avalon, VFR aircraft using the Class E were not required to get an airways clearance, but were requested to make an advisory call to Avalon Approach with their intentions.
At the time of writing, Airservices was waiting for the RAPACs to respond to the proposal.