FAA Will Open 3 New Routes Over LAX

Three new routes that other pilots can use to cross over commercial airliners traveling in and out of Los Angeles International Airport will be opened next month, Federal Aviation Administration chief T. Allan McArtor announced Monday.

The announcement is seen as a victory of sorts for general-aviation pilots, who protested last August when McArtor closed the “visual flight rules” corridor they had been using over LAX in what many felt was an overreaction to public pressure for safer airline travel.

One of the new routes crosses directly over the airport at 3,500 to 4,500 feet in much the same location as the old corridor. But planes using the Special Flight Rules Area route when it opens March 10 will have to be equipped with so-called Mode C transponders--instruments that broadcast their location and altitude to controllers monitoring the restricted airspace surrounding the airport.

The two other routes will funnel the smaller, general-aviation aircraft over airline traffic west and east of the airport. Small planes using the western route, called “Shoreline,” will cross at 2,500 to 4,000 feet. Planes using the eastern route, called “Hollywood Park,” will cross at 7,500 to 12,500 feet. The planes must be equipped with Mode C transponders. Unlike those in the Special Flight Rules Area route, pilots wishing to use Shoreline and Hollywood Park will need specific permission from air traffic controllers before doing so.