Draft EA For Proposed Changes To Air Traffic Arrival And Departure Routes FAA Seattle 0001

This environmental assessment becomes a Federal document when evaluated and signed by the responsible FAA official Responsible FAA Official Date For further Information Contact: Mr. Richard Prang Federal Aviation Administration 17900 Pacific Highway South Mail : C-68966 Seattle, WA 98168 (206) 431-2530 Sumrnary pose and Need This is an assessment of the environmental effects of proposed alterations to arrival traffic patterns at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in order to reduce congestion and improve efficiency in airspace surrounding that facility. When adverse weather, such as low ceilings and vjsibilities require instrument approaches to the airport, the arrival capacity of the airport is symmetrical. That is , ap--' proximal:ely 36 aircraft per hour can arrive whether runways or 34 are in use. Arrival delays are similar whether landings are conducted to the north or to the south. In contrast, during periods of peak demand and optimum weather conditions , south arrival' capacity is much lower (42/hour) , than north arrival capacity (56/hour) . Delays , when landing south, are significantly greater than when landing north. No r9ason for this disparity can be found in the layout of the airport. Therefore, the inefficiencies are caused by the use of the airspace, and more particularly, the requirement that turbojet aircraft landing to the south be routed through Elliott Bay, to the northwest of the airport . In periods of high demand, if weather or airport conditions improve, the present high altitude route structure and holding airspace used by the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control…
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