US set to tentatively award five new daily Washington flights
2:52 pm Wednesday, October 16th, 2024
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Transportation Department plans to announce later on Wednesday it is tentatively awarding five new daily round trip flights from Washington Reagan National airport to major airlines, sources told Reuters.
The flights at the busy airport in Arlington, Virginia, outside the nation’s capital were mandated under legislation signed in May by President Joe Biden.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines are seen as favorites for the new flights, the sources said.
A USDOT spokesperson declined to comment. USDOT plans to issue a “show cause” order that will allow for public comment before final orders on the slots are issued.
The Washington region has three major airports, but Reagan National is the closest to the U.S. Capitol and downtown. Because of its short runways, its main runway is the busiest in the United States, and Reagan is the 23rd-busiest U.S. airport by passengers.
The airlines did not immediately comment.
Delta sought a new flight to Seattle, while Southwest Airlines wants a new Las Vegas flight and American Airlines is seeking a new daily flight between San Antonio and Washington, which would connect the seventh-largest U.S. city to the DC airport.
Alaska Airlines sought a new daily flight to Reagan from San Diego, the largest market without direct flights to the DC airport, while United Airlines sought a new flight to San Francisco.
Congress in 1966 said airplanes could only fly to destinations within a 650-mile perimeter of National Airport, with some exceptions, but decades later expanded the flight distance to 1,250 miles. Since 2000, Congress has approved 25 daily flights, including the five new ones.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
