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Who owns airspace above FL600?

This means the FAA has both authority and responsibility for airspace above FL600.



The ownership and jurisdiction of airspace above FL600 (60,000 feet) are governed by a combination of national sovereignty and international treaty. According to the Chicago Convention, every nation has "complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory." However, in the United States, the FAA generally classifies airspace above FL600 as Class E (Uncontrolled) for the purpose of standard air traffic control, as very few commercial or civilian aircraft operate at those extreme altitudes. This is essentially the "fringe" of navigable airspace. Beyond the limits where traditional aircraft can fly—a boundary often cited as the Kármán Line (approximately 100 km or 330,000 feet)—national sovereignty theoretically ends and "Outer Space" begins. Under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, no nation can claim sovereignty over space or celestial bodies. Therefore, while a country owns the air directly above it up to the point where space begins, the region above FL600 is largely unregulated for transit, though any vehicle passing through it (such as a rocket or a high-altitude balloon) is still subject to the laws of the country in which it is registered.

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In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the sole authority to regulate all navigable airspace exclusively determining the rules and requirements for its use.

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Generally, that airspace from 18,000 feet MSL up to and including FL 600, including the airspace overlying the waters within 12 nautical miles off the coast of the 48 contiguous States and Alaska; and designated international airspace beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast of the 48 contiguous States and Alaska within ...

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All airspace above FL 600 is Class E airspace. Uncontrolled airspace or Class G airspace is the portion of the airspace that has not been designated as Class A, B, C, D, or E. It is therefore designated uncontrolled airspace. Class G airspace extends from the surface to the base of the overlying Class E airspace.

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Military Reconnaissance Aircraft: The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird had a service ceiling of FL850 and routinely operated above FL600. Many other aircraft in this category (e.g. MiG-25, Tsybin RSR, U-2, RB-57F, M-17 and M-55) can also fly above FL600.

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In the 1900s, Hungarian physicist Theodore von Kármán determined the boundary to be around 50 miles up, or roughly 80 kilometers above sea level. Today, though, the Kármán line is set at what NOAA calls “an imaginary boundary” that's 62 miles up, or roughly a hundred kilometers above sea level.

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There are no specific regulations governing civil aircraft operations beyond the altitude of 60,000 feet. Nevertheless, certain exceptional aircraft like the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 have managed to ascend to altitudes of FL600 (equivalent to 60,000 feet).

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Turbine-engine helicopters can reach around 25,000 feet. But the maximum height at which a helicopter can hover is much lower - a high performance helicopter can hover at 10,400 feet.

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In class E airspace, IFR aircraft are controlled by ATC. This might be a center facility (Air Route Traffic Control Center) or approach/departure facility. As a VFR aircraft, you aren't required to be in contact with ATC, but IFR aircraft must operate on an ATC clearance. That means the airspace is controlled.

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It is that portion of the airspace that has not been designated as Control Area, Control Zone, Terminal Control Area or Transition Area. According to the airspace classes set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the uncontrolled classes of airspace are class F and G.

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General. Class G airspace (uncontrolled) is that portion of airspace that has not been designated as Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class E airspace. VFR Requirements. Rules governing VFR flight have been adopted to assist the pilot in meeting the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft.

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In short, the real purpose of Class F is to allow flights to remain IFR in uncontrolled environments. Since this is a sort of mix between Class E and Class G airspace, there is no Class F inside the United States.

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Federal law provides that the United States government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States; the FAA makes the plans and policy for the use of the navigable airspace; and any citizen has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace.

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Class G airspace is the only form of uncontrolled airspace in the United States. It isn't charted, and it exists wherever Class A, B, C, D or E doesn't. But to truly understand Class G airspace, it helps to understand Class E airspace first.

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