June 6, 2025
The navigation of New York’s airspace – always complex, recently subject to disruptions and potentially confronting additional challenges with the coming summer travel season – should always be undertaken with an informed, yet flexible plan.
That was the message delivered by a panel of experts to a standing-room-only crowd at the NBAA White Plains Forum at Westchester County Airport (HPN), held June 4, 2025.
Specifically, those whose business plans will take them into New York area airspace this summer should follow a few simple rules to ensure a smooth trip: always file your flight plan early – but only file once to a avoid confusion. Also, consider flying at a lower altitude to get off the ground faster if weather and/or volume constraints are affecting the preferred routes and check NOTAMs prior to departure.
Those tips were central to the counsel offered by the experts featured in the session, including NBAA Air Traffic Services Managers Dean Snell and Jan Planten and Andy Aponte, FAA TENY general manager, gave
In addition to the usual summer congestion, operators also may encounter delays due to ATC staffing shortages, weather constraints, runway construction – such as the recent closure of Runway 4L-22R at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) – and Bedminster presidential TFRs, which are expected to be numerous in the next few months and may cause airport and route restrictions.
Aponte noted that with numerous airports in a small area, developments at one facility can greatly impact all the others. “If [John F. Kennedy International Airport] JFK is going from Southwest to Northeast flow, that will affect [LaGuardia Airport] LGA directly. LGA will impact Newark. Once Newark flips, [Teterboro Airport] TEB has to flip.
“There’s a lot of conversation on traffic management initiatives, and how much any one airport or airspace can handle, he added. “It all comes down to what we can handle and keeping that manageable. Ultimately, it’s a balance.”
Common strategies used to help ATC manage operational challenges include:
- Reducing arrival rates
- Short ground stops or arrival holds to alleviate backlog of departures
- Expanded miles-in-trail
That’s why filing multiple flight plans can “throw a wrench into the system – it impacts how traffic is being metered,” Aponte said. Also, “Having to go back and forth with the pilot is going to keep you on the ground longer,” he noted.
Other advice from Snell and Planten included:
- Don’t take a “wait-and-see” approach. Have a flight plan in the system.
- Once a POTUS TFR is in effect, be aware that timing can change and don’t schedule yourself too close to the original posted time.
For more information on navigating the Northeast, Snell and Planten also recommended reviewing a recent NBAA News Hour: Northeast Airspace Disruptions.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.