As part of ATC modernization (NextGen), the FAA will be shutting down 308 VORs of the roughly 1000 in use right now in the United States. They will continue to operate VORs that provide coverage above 5000 feet over the entire continental United States (CONUS). This will provide Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service (HIWAS) continuity. They will also retain VORs that are used with VOR, localizer and ILS approaches, and those in mountainous terrain and those used by the military. This will leave what is called the Minimum Operational Network (MON) for use in the event of GPS interruption.
Phase I: From 2016 to 2020, the FAA will decommission 74 VORs. Phase II: Between 2021 and 2025, the remaining 234 VORs will be decommissioned.
If a VOR is shut down, it SHOULD be shown with a cross-hatch on aeronautical charts.
It will continue to be REALLY IMPORTANT for pilots to always check NOTAMS that pertain to their route of flight!
The FAA plan is shown here.
General Aviation pilots should continue to hone their map-reading skills!
