Senators from Virginia and Maryland are urging lawmakers negotiating a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill to omit provisions that would add long-distance flight slots to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a controversial issue that threatened to hold up the bill in the past.
A perimeter rule Congress set in the 1960s establishes National as a short-haul airport, limited to flights within 1,250 miles, with some exemptions. In a letter Friday, Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia and Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland argue that any additional flights would overburden the airport’s capacity.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee advanced its FAA reauthorization bill in February with an amendment that would add 10 total flight slots: five additional flights into DCA and five out — a major decrease from earlier proposals, such as one from Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., to add as many as 56 additional flight slots.
