WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD) released the following statement blasting a provision in the negotiated text of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, which was released in the middle of the night, that adds five incoming and five outgoing flights to an overburdened Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), risking passenger safety and causing flight delays:

“We are deeply frustrated that Committee leadership with jurisdiction over the FAA Reauthorization Act—none of whom represent the capital region—have decided to ignore the flashing red warning light of the recent near collision of two aircraft at DCA and jam even more flights onto the busiest runway in America. It should go without saying that the safety of the traveling public should be a higher priority than the convenience of a few lawmakers who want direct flights home from their preferred airport. We will continue to fight against this ridiculous and dangerous provision.”

DCA is operating at near peak capacity, and adding an additional five round trip flights would increase delays by 725 minutes per day, leading to a total of 12,734 minutes of overall daily delay at DCA according to FAA data. In April, two aircrafts narrowly avoided a crash, underscoring the urgent need to reject additional flights at DCA.

Also today, the senators wrote to all 96 of their Senate colleagues urging them to oppose the provision.

“While the bill contains many positive features, the Senate is poised to consider a provision that could impair safety and will significantly increase delay and inconvenience experienced by the nearly 25 million passengers who use Reagan National Airport (DCA) every year,” wrote the senators. “The provision will overburden the already congested main runway at DCA and, as shown by a recent near-collision at the airport, increase the risk of a serious accident there.”

“We understand the desire of senators to shorten their commutes home, but this proposal would benefit few while impacting many, first and foremost in safety but also in delays and in reducing the economic competitiveness of smaller destinations within the perimeter. The senators representing the region and the people who most use this airport stand uniform against a provision negotiated without us that will guarantee more unacceptable delay and compromise passenger safety,” the senators concluded.

The senators have repeatedly opposed changes to the slot and perimeter rules, which govern the number and distance of flights that can safely operate out of DCA. In April, Sens. Warner and Kaine spoke on the Senate floor regarding the near miss at DCA and the need to block additional flights at the airport. In March, they sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee opposing any changes to the rules in the FAA reauthorization. They penned an op-ed last June urging their colleagues to oppose changes to the rules.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Colleagues:

When we return, we will take up the FAA reauthorization bill. It is an important bill necessary to improve air travel. While the bill contains many positive features, the Senate is poised to consider a provision that could impair safety and will significantly increase delay and inconvenience experienced by the nearly 25 million passengers who use Reagan National Airport (DCA) every year. The provision will overburden the already congested main runway at DCA and, as shown by a recent near-collision at the airport, increase the risk of a serious accident there.  

We have made our opposition to this provision known to Committee for a very long time. Our position, that Congress should not jam more flights onto an overburdened runway that is already the busiest in the United States, prevailed in the House. But the Senate Commerce Committee has insisted that 5 slots (a total of 10 flights) be added to the daily schedule. This is directly contrary to the advice from FAA and is opposed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, established by Congress to operate DCA and Dulles. It was also agreed to with absolutely no consultation with the four Senators representing the two states with airports impacted by this.

DCA is an airport built on a small land footprint that cannot be expanded. There is one primary runway and two shorter runways designed for commuter aircraft. It was intended to be used by approximately 15 million passengers a year. Its current usage is nearly 25 million passengers a year. Because of advances in airline fleet configuration, most planes flying into DCA cannot now use the secondary runways. Nearly 90% of all flights must use the primary runway. This makes the main runway at DCA the busiest in the United States.

The passenger volume at DCA and the overuse of the main runway have made DCA one of the most congested airports in the country as measured by passenger delay. Over 20% of ingoing and outgoing flights experience delay. And the average delay experienced on those flights is already 67 minutes. DCA has functionally equivalent service, in some years more service, than Dulles International Airport even though DCA is 860 acres and Dulles is nearly 12,000 acres. DCA also ranks 3^rd for airborne holds, which is when air traffic control keeps an aircraft looping in a holding pattern while the aircraft waits for an opening to land. In 2022, the airport had the 3^rd worst cancellation rate among the nation’s busiest airports. And these delays not only affect DCA but cause missed connection flights and other inconveniences throughout the system.

The FAA has advised the Senate that any increase in the number of operations at DCA will increase the number and duration of delays. They have assessed that the delay attributable to adding 10 flights will affect 183 flights for a total of 751 minutes (or 12 hours) of additional delay per day. When added to the existing delay, DCA would experience 12,734 minutes of delay per day! The FAA also notes that this figure does not take into account any delay that might result from gate constraints caused by adding flights.

But the delay issue is not as important as passenger safety. On April 18, there was a near miss at DCA as two planes jockeyed for position—one on the primary runway and one on a secondary runway. The planes averted a collision by a mere 300 feet. The audio from the FAA air traffic controllers is chilling—with one heard frantically yelling “Stop! Stop!” The FAA is investigating the incident, but the likelihood of a serious accident is already high at this overburdened airport and adding 10 more flights will only raise the possibility of a tragic outcome. We believe that this near miss is a bright red warning light flashing before Congress.

There are alternatives to Congress jamming in 10 more flights. The Commerce Committee settled the pilot training hours debate by deferring to the Secretary to determine how many virtual training hours are safe. In this case, Commerce, says more slots are safe. The senators representing the region, in consultation with DOT, say they aren’t. Why not let the Secretary make the call?

We understand the desire of senators to shorten their commutes home, but this proposal would benefit few while impacting many, first and foremost in safety but also in delays and in reducing the economic competitiveness of smaller destinations within the perimeter. The senators representing the region and the people who most use this airport stand uniform against a provision negotiated without us that will guarantee more unacceptable delay and compromise passenger safety.

Sincerely,

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