Airlines Scramble for Extra Slots at Reagan National Airport
Photo Credit: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Thomas Hawk/Flickr Flickr / Thomas Hawk
Skift Take
A provision to add five additional long-distance flights out of DCA in the FAA bill has sent airlines in a frenzy to apply for one of the new slots.
Given its proximity to Washington, D.C., slots — especially long-distance ones — at the heavily congested Reagan National Airport are highly coveted.
The airport limits flights to within a 1,250 radius, but 40 flights have been exempt from that rule. Now, the airport will see five additional slots for long-distance flights after the FAA bill was signed into law last week. And airlines are in a scramble to apply for them.
Adding extra slots at Reagan National was so controversial that it was one of the reasons the FAA bill was held up in Congress for a year. Local senators were heavily opposed to the bill
