GA Access To DCA

For NBAA, Opening The Door May Be SLOA
General aviation operations may one day return to our nation's capital, at National Airport (DCA), conveniently located near downtown Washington, D.C., but it won't be easy ... or quick. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has reported that the FAA is responding favorably to their proposal for re-establishing general aviation operations at DCA, which prior to 9/11 hosted some 60,000 GA operations per year. Now, it hosts none with Dulles picking up some of the transferred load. Following a meeting at the airport on Monday, Admiral Paul E. Busick, FAA associate administrator for civil aviation security, offered that NBAA's proposal was a positive step in creating a regulatory foundation for the resumption of general aviation at the airport. The plan would allow Part 91 operators to submit a request to the FAA Administrator asking for a Security Letter of Authorization (SLOA). The SLOA request would define the aircraft, operator, crew, passengers and security measures to be taken. Background checks would then be conducted for owners and operators. Crewmembers must hold a valid and appropriate U.S.-issued airman certificate and Social Security number. To fly into DCA, all crewmembers would have to be U.S. citizens, and the aircraft would have to be searched before departure. Busick expressed concern the NBAA may have overestimated the capabilities of a limited number of FAA employees to manage a large number of requests in an extremely expeditious manner, and cautioned that the program may not be operational by March, the NBAA's target date.

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