Doesn't DC own the property and the airport?
I know that Arlington, VA surrounds DCA but I believe DCA is "in" DC
I would have told the officers: "To bad this is D.C."
You can not smoke in the bars as of Jan 2007 in Reagan National Airport
You can still smoke in VA bars - not DC (as of Jan 2007)
This leads me to believe than DC owns the airport and the land under it.
(wikipedia)
National Airport opened its doors on June 16, 1941. Though located in Virginia, much of the site had originally been underwater, in District of Columbia territory. A 1945 law established the airport as legally within Virginia but under the jurisdiction of Congress.