DCA can safely handle more flights — Congress should stop holding it back

As a 30-year veteran of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a certified professional air traffic controller, I have closely watched the debate over whether to modernize the federal perimeter rule and add flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) as part of this year’s FAA reauthorization bill.

The short answer is that yes, it is time.

The antiquated perimeter rule was established at DCA in 1966, to allow Dulles International Airport to grow and compete. Today, this rule needs to be reformed. A lot has changed over the last 60 years. Modernization to allow more flights from both within and beyond the 1,250-mile perimeter of the capital is needed to balance present travel demand and consumer choice and ultimately bring down the cost of airline tickets.

Understanding the supply and demand piece of this debate is easy. What is most perplexing is the misinformation being spread that DCA cannot handle more flights. These claims have become the center of a public relations campaign to protect individual airlines with leading positions in the market, rather than to promote competition, consumer choice and progress in our national airspace system.

As someone who spent his entire career ensuring airplanes could land and take-off safely, I can say with certainty that DCA can handle more capacity. DCA is a busy airport with unique airspace, but the data are clear, and proposed legislation to modernize the perimeter rule accounts for the complexities in the skies around DCA.

In its May 25 memorandum, which the opposition continues to point to, the FAA states “about 20 percent of departures and 22 percent of arrivals experience delays of 67 minutes at DCA.” Yet there are no data in the memorandum to support these numbers.

Using the FAA’s own data, from what’s called the Aviation Systems Performance Metrics (ASPM) — air traffic controllers call it the “Bible” of aviation metrics — we can see that between January 2022 and the end of April 2023, there were nearly 400,000 flights into and out of DCA. Of those, roughly 6,700 (1.7 percent) experienced reportable delays. This is far less than 20 percent of departures and 22 percent of arrivals.

In addition, when delays occur at DCA, there are sufficient periods of time during the day where controllers can safely and efficiently recover delayed aircraft.

The FAA’s own data also reveal there are multiple blocks of time each day where runway and airspace capacity exceed demand and, therefore, air traffic control can safely and efficiently handle additional flights in these windows. Partnering with the FAA, airlines could plug-in flights where reasonable and during slower periods throughout the day when the airport has available capacity. 

When I was hired by the FAA in 1989, the agency was often the punchline of jokes regarding its antiquated technology. I recall sitting in a meeting in 2010 when a leader in the airline industry, holding up an early generation iPhone, stated he held more technology in his hand than was running the computers of the entire Air Traffic System.

At the time, he likely wasn’t exaggerating. But since then, the FAA has made great strides in implementing next-generation tools to advance a more efficient air traffic system. As technology continues to improve, so will the flying experience. Yet the airport that most closely serves our nation’s capital is operating under rules established more than 60 years ago.

It’s time for change. Modernizing the perimeter rule at DCA to add flights can and should be done.

Todd Jacobson is a retired certified professional air traffic controller who served multiple airports in his 30-year tenure with the FAA. He served as general manager of the Denver-Salt Lake District and was responsible for 31 FAA Air Traffic Facilities and federal contract towers.