Ask a lot of the frequent kites of the congress, and they will tell you that Ronald Reagan National Airport has sent red flags for years.
“I have long been very, very nervous about congestion at Reagan National,” said Senator Tim Kaine, D-VA.
“The congestion of the Air space around Reagan and DC As a whole, this certainly played a role in this, “said Senator Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., A former pilot of fire fighting.” The huge number of aircraft in the air has been as high as ever. “
“Many aircraft transit up and down through the Potomac,” said Senator Mark Kelly, D-Aarz., A former Navy combat pilot and astronaut. “Coming in and out of certain areas. The Pentagon. Other military installations. Reagan there in that highly traded area.”
“When I am at Reagan and I see new gates being built, the terminal that grows up, I realize that there will never be an inch of runway. The air is quite overloaded,” said Senator Kevin Cramer, RN.D. “I often think there is too much activity for this small piece of land. And I am sure that there will be a re -evaluation of all that.”
A Jetblue Airlines Airbus A320 -Jet flies past the American Capitol Dome while it comes in for a landing on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday 7 May 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The worst air disaster in the country spilled in almost a quarter of a century In the Potomac River Wednesday evening, just at the Reagan National Airport of Washington. Seventy-six people died after American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kan., Collision in collision with an army Sikorsky Black Hawk Helicopter feet from the starting track.
A Luchtexperts say that flying in and out of Reagan National is one of the most complicated airports in the country. The approach of both the north and the south is over water. Pilots must navigate a narrow corridor above the river – but not fly over nearby Pentagon. That is nothing to say about Piercing Washington, the super protective airspace of DC. The White House and the American Capitol are clearly visible when planes take off to the north.
Moreover, the airport is known for notoriously short runways. The runway on which the American Eagle flight tried to land extends slightly more than 5,200 feet. A little less than a mile long.
That is not even the most important runway. Standard commercial runways on average approximately 13,000 feet. The longest runway at Reagan National is around 7,000 feet. Moreover, all three runways intersect. Such a configuration can rarely be seen at modern airports.
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The Middle Song Crash between an American Airlines Jet and Black Hawk Military Helicopter near Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, was seen on Dashcam Video by Joint Base Anacostia Bolling. (Storyy)
Last spring there were two incidents in which planes almost crashed against each other while crossing runways.
The starting and runways are some of the most used in the entire US flight system. The airport is designed to process 14 million passengers annually. But that number caught in 2023 to 25 million. The airport offers a stunning 800 starts and landings every day.
There were efforts to close Reagan National when Dulles International Airport was opened in 1962. Dulles is a misconduct of a campus. However, it is almost 30 miles from Washington, DC, appropriate. The movers and shakers of the country were never attracted to Dulles when it was so easy to fly to Reagan National, Deplane, to catch a taxi and arrive at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 15 minutes later.
Legislators, aviation, national security officials and the Secret had serious conversations about the permanent closing of the airport after 9/11. It was thought that air traffic in and out of Reagan National was a too much risk for the government’s seat. It would not cost much for hijackers to recommend an airplane and to turn it to Capitol Hill.
One plane finally crashed against the Pentagon at 9/11. The fourth plane – which went down in a field near Shanksville, Penn. – was eventually on the way to the Capitol.
Care providers restore rubble from the Potomac River in the aftermath of the American Eagle Flight 5342 collision and a Black Hawk -Helicopter, seen from Virginia, January 30, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
That said, proponents of maintaining Reagan National claimed that it was almost impossible to hijack a plane and send it immediately to the Capitol. It takes a while to design a hijacking. There was just not enough time to perform such a plan second after taking off.
Nevertheless, the authorities have closed Reagan National more than three weeks after 9/11. New safety rules were present as soon as the airport was open again. Aircraft cannot have more than 156 seats. All passengers had to sit for half an hour before they land. Air Marshals patrols most, if not all flights on and out of the airport.
The FBI made many of those limitations apart from a few months to almost four years after 9/11. But that did not reduce questions about the safety of this specific airport.
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Proponents of maintaining Reagan National, however, had some of the most powerful allies in the nation: members of the congress.
Legislers hold insane schemes. The invention of the Jet aircraft has even contributed to such a bedlam. Legislers are often in demand in their districts or states – and on Capitol Hill. That does not mean anything about conferences in Aspen of Halifax – and Blitish fundraisers in New York or San Francisco. So air travel, in combination with access to a nearby airport, is paramount in the modern congress.
The importance of aviation is even included in The Congress Allotment Steel.
Monday or Tuesday are often considered “fly-in” days. The house and the senate are not really getting started until late in the day during the first day of the week. The votes on Monday cannot unfold until 5.30 pm in the Senate and 6.30 pm in the house. Depending on whether the house (and sometimes the Senate) meets on a Monday or Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, days are considered “outing” for days. The house can cut the city in the morning or noon on an escape day. If the Senate does not swore for five days (which has happened a lot this year, but not this week), the last mood often touches around 2.15 pm or 2.30 pm. On a Thursday.
The legislators therefore have an established interest in keeping Reagan National Operational. Even after 9/11.
In 2024, the Congress re -authorized five years programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). But one of the most controversial issues in the bill was whether the congress should authorize extra daily “slots” for Reagan National. New, regular flights will start in a few weeks to Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, San Antonio and San Francisco. Since the turn of the century, the laws have blessed an increase of around 50 extra daily “slots” at Reagan National.
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It says that only four senators were against the FAA statement statement last year. All four were the local Washington, DC, Area Senator Kaine.
The Senate confirmed transport secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday on a dual mood. Duffy was confronted with a crisis on Wednesday evening. By Friday, the new secretary created the airspace around Reagan National for helicopters.
But like everything in Washington, the key to Reagan National is all about access. It is difficult to find a large airport on the planet that is so close to the levers of electricity.
And as long as the White House, the American Capitol, the Pentagon, a large number of federal agencies and lobby stores exist in Washington, it is doubtful that Reagan National is going everywhere.
Chris Pandolfo from Fox News has contributed to this report.
