Congress is angry over flights at a Washington, DC, airport

There is a fight brewing on Capitol Hill, but it may not be the one you're expecting. Members of Congress have reached a boiling point — over an airport. Specifically, a group of politicians are feuding over the recent allowance of additional long-distance flights at Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Despite being significantly smaller than Washington's Dulles International Airport, Reagan National is the busiest airport in the nation's capital, and "broke its all-time passenger traffic record with 25.5 million passengers in 2023," said the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. This comes out to nearly one flight at the airport every minute. Despite its heavy traffic, Reagan National is typically a short-haul airport, with just 11 available routes being longer than 1,250 miles. However, Congress has now made a major change that is irking some senators.

The new plan is part of the recently passed FAA reauthorization bill, which was pushed through both chambers of Congress in mid-May. The reauthorization calls for five additional round-trip flights to be added to Reagan National, which could potentially be used for long-haul journeys. But some in Congress are concerned these new flights will push an already stretched airport to the brink.

Why are more flights being added?

Federal regulators and the U.S. Department of Transportation hope that adding more flight slots to Reagan National "will benefit passengers, as increasing seat availability to high-demand destinations such as Los Angeles and San Francisco should help to lower the airport's notoriously high ticket prices," said Simple Flying. It is also predicted that the additional slots could create more competition for United Airlines, which uses nearby Dulles as a major hub.

However, there is another reason that lawmakers were eager to add more slots to Reagan National: it's the airport they use. The airport is "easily accessible by car and public transit, and its proximity to Capitol Hill makes it a favorite of lawmakers," said Business Insider. As such, the "allure of adding long-haul flights to [Reagan National] is impossible to resist." And this is one of the major reasons for the controversy.

Why is the bill's passage causing anger in Congress?

The addition of more flights is raising alarm bells among some in Congress who feel that it will cause safety concerns. These concerns were heightened in mid-April when a JetBlue flight nearly collided with a Southwest jet on a Reagan National runway. In particular, the additions were blasted by lawmakers from Washington, D.C.'s two states, Maryland and Virginia, as possible disasters waiting to happen.

The reauthorization bill "[ignores] 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," Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in a joint statement when the bill was initially proposed. They "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." The safety of passengers "should be a higher priority than the convenience of a few lawmakers who want direct flights home from their preferred airport."

While some in Congress have accused lawmakers of wanting the additional flights for their own convenience, there was pushback over this notion from some on Capitol Hill. The four senators were "cloaking their arguments in public safety, but I don't think it's a safety argument. I think they like monopoly," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said to CNN. Texas lawmakers were "being discriminated against" because there are no direct flights to San Antonio, Cornyn said.

Even as the reauthorization has now passed, the federal government is "concerned about the pressure that [added flights] could put on the system" of Reagan National, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, per Politico. However, the bill "will help continue the FAA's work to safely operate the world’s most complex airspace," he said on X.

Despite this, Virginia politicians from both chambers don't seem to be reassured about the airport. The provision of the additional flights "was jammed through by senators and airlines who are putting their own interest above the safety of travelers," Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said in a press release after the reauthorization passed.