A small Texas town loses its air traffic beacon, changing local flight rules

The Federal Aviation Administration is changing flight rules for George West, Texas. This is because a key navigation beacon in nearby Three Rivers is being shut down.

For decades, pilots have relied on ground-based radio beacons to navigate. These beacons are expensive to maintain and are being phased out as planes increasingly use GPS. This small change in Texas is part of a larger, quiet shift in how air travel works across the country, moving from ground infrastructure to satellite-based systems.