Today, the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport celebrates its 70th anniversary. Even though the official name is long, it is popularly known as Reagan National across the country and simply National in the metro Washington/Baltimore area.
According to the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, the airport’s site was selected by President Franklin Roosevelt and the airport opened on June 16, 1941. In its first year of operation, the airport served 344, 000 passengers. Today, the airport serves more than 18 million passengers in a year.
Reagan National has a bright future. It nicely complements the other two airports in the area: Dulles and BWI. It is the closest airport to downtown Washington, which means, a higher proportion of its passengers are business travelers. It is still one of the few slot-controlled airports, with FAA strictly limiting the number of take-offs and landings. Airlines vie for slots to Reagan National. The airport is directly served by the Metro making it convenient for travelers. Even though the air field has virtually no space for expansion (as it sits right on the banks of Potomac River), the terminal facilities are good (especially with the renovation of historic terminal A).
There are some challenges as well. The popular shuttle service from Reagan National to New York and Boston now faces stiff competition from Amtrak’s Acela service. Even though US Airways (to LGA and BOS) and Delta (to LGA) continue to provide a near hourly service, they have reduced the plane sizes and downgraded some equipment. The airport still has the Perimeter Rule with most flights restricted to destinations within 1250 statute miles. Only a handful of long distance flights are offered to cities West of Rocky Mountains. The local population and business/political leaders oppose any increase in long distance flights to the airport.
Security is another major concern because of its close proximity to the White House and Pentagon (remember when the airport was closed for many days after the September 11 terrorist attacks?).
But overall, the airport has a very bright future.
Happy Birthday!!!
An Offbeat Note: As a local resident of Washington, DC area, my personal favorite about Reagan National is the plane spotting from Gravelly Point, especially the “River Visual” approach (one of the most challenging landing assignments for even seasoned pilots). Watching planes taking off and landing just few feet over our heads is an amazing experience!