The frequent fliers of Congress consider new flights for Washington Airport
Representative Blake D. Moore, Republican of Utah, is pushing for changes to federal law that would allow more nonstop flights between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Salt Lake City. Those flights, he said, would increase tourism between Utah and the nation’s capital. They would also offer Moore a more efficient commute. When he heads home from Capitol Hill, Moore often waits for the only direct flight in the afternoon or evening from any of the three Washington-area airports that can return him to Salt Lake City in time to tuck in his children: a Delta Air Lines departure from Reagan National, also known as DCA, after 5 p.m. that lands around 8 p.m. An earlier departure would allow him to fulfill his duties as a legislator but also as a father, Moore said, letting him help his wife with dinner or attend Little League practice. “We need more direct flights out of DCA,” he said. In recent weeks, dozens of lawmakers have joined the push for 28 new round-trip flights per day at Reagan National. Pressing their case with opinion essays, tweets and proposed legislation, they argue that these additional routes — which would require tweaking a decades-old law that prevents most flights from traveling more than 1,250 miles to or from Reagan National — would meet pent-up demand, reduce airfares and create new jobs. Their push, fueled by a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign sponsored by Delta, aims to enact changes as part of legislation that would reauthorize the FAA for another five years. The effort to relax the so-called perimeter rule is caught up in battles for market share among airlines, local politics in the Washington area and friction over the FAA’s chronic and worsening problems managing air traffic and safety. But unlike many of the special-interest battles in Washington, this one has personal ramifications for lawmakers — or at least those who shuttle home each week to points west that cannot be reached easily from Reagan National, located just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington and a quick ride from Capitol Hill. (Another Washington-area airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, is about 25 miles to the west.)<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-07-05/general/the-frequent-fliers-of-congress-consider-new-flights-for-washington-airport
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The frequent fliers of Congress consider new flights for Washington Airport
Representative Blake D. Moore, Republican of Utah, is pushing for changes to federal law that would allow more nonstop flights between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Salt Lake City. Those flights, he said, would increase tourism between Utah and the nation’s capital. They would also offer Moore a more efficient commute. When he heads home from Capitol Hill, Moore often waits for the only direct flight in the afternoon or evening from any of the three Washington-area airports that can return him to Salt Lake City in time to tuck in his children: a Delta Air Lines departure from Reagan National, also known as DCA, after 5 p.m. that lands around 8 p.m. An earlier departure would allow him to fulfill his duties as a legislator but also as a father, Moore said, letting him help his wife with dinner or attend Little League practice. “We need more direct flights out of DCA,” he said. In recent weeks, dozens of lawmakers have joined the push for 28 new round-trip flights per day at Reagan National. Pressing their case with opinion essays, tweets and proposed legislation, they argue that these additional routes — which would require tweaking a decades-old law that prevents most flights from traveling more than 1,250 miles to or from Reagan National — would meet pent-up demand, reduce airfares and create new jobs. Their push, fueled by a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign sponsored by Delta, aims to enact changes as part of legislation that would reauthorize the FAA for another five years. The effort to relax the so-called perimeter rule is caught up in battles for market share among airlines, local politics in the Washington area and friction over the FAA’s chronic and worsening problems managing air traffic and safety. But unlike many of the special-interest battles in Washington, this one has personal ramifications for lawmakers — or at least those who shuttle home each week to points west that cannot be reached easily from Reagan National, located just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington and a quick ride from Capitol Hill. (Another Washington-area airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, is about 25 miles to the west.)<br/>
