Latest news with #ReaganAirport
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Travel + Leisure
3 days ago
- Travel + Leisure
FAA Warns About Washington, D.C.-area Flight Disruptions in June—What Travelers Should Know
Travelers might want to look closely at their airline itineraries along the East Coast in the coming weeks, as a major airport is planning to restrict flights later this month. On June 14, officials will restrict airspace at Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA) due to a special military parade taking place in the nation's capital. Ground traffic in Washington, D.C., is also expected to be impacted due to road closures and military flight paths. 'To accommodate aircraft flyovers along the parade route, followed by a fireworks display, the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to suspend airline operations at DCA, affecting scheduled flights,' a representative for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport shared on its website. Even if Washington, D.C., isn't a traveler's final destination, airline passengers should keep in mind that connections at Reagan Airport could also be disrupted due to the flight restrictions. A senior government official reportedly told NBC News that the ground stop is expected to impact 116 flights. Reagan Airport encourages passengers to reach out to their individual airlines and make accommodations to rebook if they are flying to the airport on the evening of June 14. For people traveling by car, the airport provides guidance to utilize public transportation if they need to get to the airport amid the road closures. "There could be some disruption to the airspace at times," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. "We don't know when that is, but that could affect, for short periods of time, air travel." There were no published advisories for other nearby airports, such as Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). Dulles is located farther away from Downtown D.C. than Regan Airport, which is less than three miles from the National Mall. The parade is in recognition of the 250th Anniversary of the Army, which was founded on June 14, 1775. 'Attendees will experience 250 years of Army heritage through historical U.S. Army personnel reenactors, period-accurate equipment, vehicles, impressive flyovers, and military bands participating in this landmark event,' the event website shares. The programming is scheduled to run from 6:30 p.m. EDT through 9:30 p.m. EDT. The parade takes place in Washington, along Constitution Avenue between 15th Street and 23rd Street.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US senators propose sweeping FAA air safety reforms after fatal collision
WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - A group of seven Democratic senators on Thursday introduced sweeping air safety legislation after a fatal collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab regional jet in January near Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people. Lawmakers have questioned why the Federal Aviation Administration failed to act for years to address close calls involving helicopters near Reagan. The legislation would require a review of helicopter and passenger operations at major airports, mandate new FAA safety reviews after fatal passenger airline accidents and require the use of use ADS-B, an advanced aircraft-tracking technology.
Reuters
5 days ago
- General
- Reuters
US Army helicopter flights at Pentagon remain suspended after close call
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Army helicopter flights around the Pentagon remain suspended after two passenger airline flights were forced to abort landings on May 1 at Reagan Washington National Airport because of a nearby Black Hawk helicopter, the acting head of the Federal Aviation Adminstraton said Wednesday. Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told a U.S. House hearing that the agency had barred the Army from training or priority transport flights as it revisits the agency's letter of authorization with the military. "They are not flying right now," Rocheleau said. "We've shut those down until such time as we're comfortable with kind of what we call new rules of the road."
Arab News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Hotline between military and air traffic controllers in Washington hasn't worked for over 3 years
A hotline between military and civilian air traffic controllers in Washington, D.C., that hasn't worked for more than three years may have contributed to another near miss shortly after the US Army resumed flying helicopters in the area for the first time since January's deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter, Sen. Ted Cruz said at a hearing Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration official in charge of air traffic controllers, Frank McIntosh, confirmed the agency didn't even know the hotline hadn't been working since March 2022 until after the latest near miss. He said civilian controllers still have other means of communicating with their military counterparts through landlines. Still, the FAA insists the hotline be fixed before helicopter flights resume around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Army didn't immediately comment Wednesday about the near miss earlier this month and the steps it is taking to ensure helicopter flights in the area are safe or about the hotline. The FAA said in a statement that the dedicated direct access line between air traffic controllers at Reagan and the Pentagon's Army heliport hasn't worked since 2022 because of the construction of a new tower at the Pentagon. But the FAA said 'the two facilities continue to communicate via telephone for coordination.' 'The developments at DCA in its airspace are extremely concerning,' Cruz said. 'This committee remains laser-focused on monitoring a safe return to operations at DCA and making sure all users in the airspace are operating responsibly.' The Army suspended all helicopter flights around Reagan airport after the latest near miss, but McIntosh said the FAA was close to ordering the Army to stop flying because of the safety concerns before it did so voluntarily. 'We did have discussions if that was an option that we wanted to pursue,' McIntosh told the Senate Commerce Committee at the hearing. Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and FAA accident investigator, said 'the fact that they were unaware that this connection was not working for three years is troublesome.' But he is not entirely clear on the purpose of the hotline when controllers had other ways to communicate. But Guzzetti thinks the Army needs to be more forthcoming about what it is doing to ensure the airspace around Washington remains safe. Since the crash, the Army has at times refused to provide information that Congress has asked for, and officials didn't answer all the questions at a previous hearing. 'The DCA airspace is under the white hot spotlight. So the Army's going to have to be more transparent and more assertive in their dealings with this problem,' Guzzetti said. According to a US official, one course of action under consideration now is to have the Army give 24 hours notice of any flights around National Airport. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made and discussions are ongoing. January's crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people — making it the deadliest plane crash on US soil since 2001. The National Transportation Safety Board has said there were an alarming 85 near misses around Reagan in the three years before the crash that should have prompted action. Since the crash, the FAA has tried to ensure that military helicopters never share the same airspace as planes, but controllers had to order two planes to abort their landings on May 1 because of an Army helicopter circling near the Pentagon. 'After the deadly crash near Reagan National Airport, FAA closed the helicopter route involved, but a lack of coordination between FAA and the Department of Defense has continued to put the flying public at risk,' Sen. Tammy Duckworth said. McIntosh said the helicopter should never have entered the airspace around Reagan airport without permission from an air traffic controller. 'That did not occur,' he said. 'My question — and I think the larger question is — is why did that not occur? Without compliance to our procedures and our policies, this is where safety drift starts to happen.' The NTSB is investigating what happened. In addition to that incident, a commercial flight taking off from Reagan airport had to take evasive action after coming within a few hundred feet of four military jets heading to a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery. McIntosh blamed that incident on a miscommunication between FAA air traffic controllers at a regional facility and the tower at Reagan, which he said had been addressed.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Hotline between military and air traffic controllers in Washington hasn't worked for over 3 years
A hotline between military and civilian air traffic controllers in Washington, D.C., that hasn't worked for more than three years may have contributed to another near miss shortly after the Army resumed flying helicopters in the area for the first time since January's deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter. Sen. Ted Cruz said a hearing Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration official in charge of air traffic controllers, Frank McIntosh, confirmed that the agency didn't even know the hotline hadn't been working since March 2022 until after the latest near miss. He said civilian controllers did still have other means of communicating with their military counterparts through landlines, but the FAA is insisting the hotline be fixed before helicopter flights resume around Ronald Reagan National Airport. Defense department officials didn't immediately respond to questions Wednesday about the near miss earlier this month and the steps it is taking to ensure helicopter flights in the area are safe. The FAA didn't immediately answer follow-up questions after the hearing about how that hotline was supposed to be used. 'The developments at DCA (Reagan airport) in its airspace are extremely concerning,' Cruz said. 'This committee remains laser focused on monitoring a safe return to operations at DCA and making sure all users in the airspace are operating responsibly.' The Army suspended all helicopter flights around Reagan airport after the latest near miss, but McIntosh said the FAA was close to ordering the Army to stop flying because of the safety concerns before it did so voluntarily. 'We did have discussions if that was an option that we wanted to pursue,' McIntosh told the Senate Commerce Committee at the hearing. January's crash between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter killed 67 people — making it the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001. The National Transportation Safety Board has said there were an alarming 85 near misses around Reagan in the three years before the crash that should have prompted action. Since the crash, the FAA has tried to ensure that military helicopters never share the same airspace as planes, but controllers had to order two planes to abort their landings on May 1 because of an Army helicopter circling near the Pentagon. In addition to that incident, a commercial flight taking off from Reagan airport had to take evasive action after coming within a few hundred feet of four military jets heading to a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery. McIntosh blamed that incident on a miscommunication between FAA air traffic controllers at a regional facility and the tower at Reagan that he said had been addressed.
