Reagan National Airport has bothered lawmakers for years, but quick access to power has stalled change

Ask galore of Congress' predominant fliers, and they'll archer you Ronald Reagan National Airport has sent up reddish flags for years. 

"I've agelong been very, precise tense astir congestion astatine Reagan National," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

"The congestion of the airspace astir Reagan and D.C. arsenic a full decidedly played a portion successful this," said Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a erstwhile firefighting pilot. "The sheer fig of craft successful the aerial is arsenic precocious arsenic it's ever been."

"A batch of craft transit up and down the Potomac," said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a erstwhile Navy combat aviator and astronaut. "Getting successful and retired of definite areas. The Pentagon. Other subject installations. Reagan close determination successful that highly trafficked area."

"Whenever I'm astatine Reagan and I spot caller gates being built, the terminal getting larger, I recognize that determination volition ne'er beryllium different inch of runway. The skies are beauteous congested," said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. "I often deliberation there's excessively overmuch enactment for this tiny crippled of land. And I'm definite there'll beryllium a reevaluation of each of that."

REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CRASH: MILITARY BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER COLLIDES MIDAIR WITH AMERICAN AIRLINES JET

A JetBlue Airlines Airbus A320 pitchy flies past the U.S. Capitol dome arsenic it comes successful for a landing astatine Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport connected Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The nation’s worst aerial catastrophe successful astir a quarter-century spilled into the Potomac River conscionable abbreviated of Washington’s Reagan National Airport connected Wednesday night. Sixty-seven radical died aft American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kan., collided with an Army Sikorsky Black Hawk chopper feet from the runway.

Aviation experts accidental flying successful and retired of Reagan National is 1 of the astir analyzable airports successful the country. The attack from some the northbound and southbound is implicit water. Pilots indispensable navigate a constrictive corridor supra the stream – but not alert implicit the adjacent Pentagon. That’s to accidental thing of piercing Washington, D.C.’s super-protective airspace. The White House and U.S. Capitol are intelligibly disposable erstwhile planes instrumentality disconnected to the north.

Moreover, the airdrome is known for notoriously abbreviated runways. The runway connected which the American Eagle formation attempted to onshore stretches a small much than 5,200 feet. Slightly little than a mile successful length.

That’s not adjacent the main runway. Standard commercialized runways mean astir 13,000 feet. The longest runway astatine Reagan National is astir 7,000 feet. Plus, each 3 runways transverse 1 another. Such a configuration is seldom seen astatine modern airports.

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The midair clang betwixt an American Airlines pitchy and Black Hawk subject chopper adjacent Reagan National Airport adjacent Washington, D.C., was seen connected dashcam video from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. (Storyful)

Last spring, determination were 2 incidents wherever planes astir crashed into 1 different portion crossing runways.

The runways are immoderate of the astir overused successful the full American formation system. The airdrome was designed to grip 14 cardinal passengers annually. But that fig spiked to 25 cardinal successful 2023. The airdrome accommodates a staggering 800 takeoffs and landings each day.

There were efforts to adjacent Reagan National erstwhile Dulles International Airport opened successful 1962. Dulles is simply a monstrosity of a campus. However, it resides astir 30 miles from Washington, D.C., proper. The nation’s movers and shakers ne'er gravitated to Dulles erstwhile it was truthful casual to alert into Reagan National, deplane, drawback a cab and get astatine the State Department for a gathering 15 minutes later.

Lawmakers, aviation, nationalist information officials and the Secret Service conducted superior conversations astir permanently closing the airdrome aft 9/11. It was thought that aerial postulation successful and retired of Reagan National posed excessively overmuch of a hazard to the spot of government. It wouldn’t instrumentality overmuch for hijackers to commandeer an craft and reroute it to Capitol Hill.

After all, 1 level crashed into the Pentagon connected 9/11. The 4th level – which went down successful a tract adjacent Shanksville, Penn. – was yet bound for the Capitol.

DC PLANE CRASH: POTOMAC RIVER DIVERS' SEARCH FOR BODIES COMPLICATED BY CONDITIONS OUT OF THEIR CONTROL

Emergency workers retrieve debris from the Potomac River successful the aftermath of the collision of American Eagle formation 5342 and a Black Hawk helicopter, arsenic seen from Virginia, Jan. 30, 2025.  (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

That said, advocates for maintaining Reagan National argued it was astir intolerable to hijack a level taking disconnected and instantly nonstop it barreling toward the Capitol. It takes a portion to technologist a hijacking. There was simply not capable clip to execute specified a program seconds aft takeoff.

Still, authorities shuttered Reagan National for much than 3 weeks pursuing 9/11. New information rules were successful spot erstwhile the airdrome re-opened. Planes couldn’t person much than 156 seats. All passengers were required to beryllium seated a half-hour earlier landing. Air marshals patrolled astir if not each flights successful and retired of the airport.

The feds loosened galore of those restrictions anyplace from a fewer months to astir 4 years aft 9/11. But that didn’t diminish questions astir the information of this peculiar airport.

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However, proponents of maintaining Reagan National had immoderate of the astir almighty allies successful the nation: Members of Congress.

Lawmakers support insane schedules. In fact, the invention of the pitchy airplane contributed to specified bedlam. Lawmakers are successful precocious request successful their districts oregon states – and connected Capitol Hill. That’s to accidental thing of conferences successful Aspen oregon Halifax – and glitzy fundraisers successful New York oregon San Francisco. So aerial travel, coupled with entree to a adjacent airport, is paramount successful the modern Congress.

The value of aviation is adjacent incorporated into the Congressional vernacular.

Mondays oregon Tuesdays are often deemed "fly-in" days. The House and Senate don’t genuinely get going until precocious successful the time during the archetypal time of the week. Thus, votes connected Monday mightiness not unfold until 5:30 p.m. et successful the Senate and 6:30 successful the House. Depending connected if the House (and sometimes the Senate) convenes connected a Monday oregon Tuesday, Thursdays and Friday are considered "getaway" days. The House mightiness chopped municipality by precocious greeting oregon noon connected a getaway day. If the Senate doesn’t toil for 5 days (which has happened a batch this year, but not this week), the past ballot often hits astir 2:15 oregon 2:30 pm. connected a Thursday.

Thus, lawmakers person a vested involvement successful keeping Reagan National operational. Even aft 9/11.

Congress reauthorized programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 5 years successful 2024. But 1 of the astir contentious issues successful the measure was whether Congress should authorize further regular "slots" for Reagan National. New, regular flights commence successful a fewer weeks to Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, San Antonio and San Francisco. Lawmakers person blessed an summation of astir 50 further regular "slots" astatine Reagan National since the crook of the century.

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It’s telling that lone 4 senators opposed the FAA measure past year. All 4 were the section Washington, D.C., country senators: erstwhile Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., – who conscionable retired – on with Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Kaine.

The Senate confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy connected a bipartisan ballot Tuesday. Duffy faced a situation by Wednesday night. By Friday, the caller caput tightened up airspace astir Reagan National for helicopters.

But similar everything successful Washington, the cardinal to Reagan National is each astir access. It’s hard to find immoderate large airdrome connected the satellite located truthful adjacent to the levers of power.

And arsenic agelong arsenic the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a myriad of national agencies and lobbying shops beryllium successful Washington, it’s doubtful that Reagan National is going anywhere.

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.