Will National Ever Open?
 

I'm hearing rumours that Ronald Reagan National Airport will close permanently. The reasoning is that it is located too close to Capital Hill and presents a security risk.

I definitely feel that it is a security risk to have National Airport so close to the capitol and other installations. I think the politicians kept it open for their convenience. I believe that National should be closed and everyone should go to Dulles or BWI

I personally wouldn't mind (the office sure has been quiet without a plane passing closely over every 3 minutes!!!) BUT I seriously doubt that outcome...

I don't know if it'll open. It is my airport of choice so convience is obvious. But I also live in downtown DC within walking distance to the White House & many "good" targets so I'd prefer to make this entire area a no fly zone.

A colleague and I just discussed this and we agreed it will never happen unless Congress is willing to use IAD and for that to happen I think you would need high speed rail access with 1 stop at the Vienna Metro and the other in DC itself. It would cost billions. But we agreed that Congress would appropriate it and it would be built faster than imagined if they were too inconvenienced with a DCA closure. Maybe I am too cynical.

One of the hijacked planes came from IAD, though. A hijacker would not have enough time to seize a DCA departure before it was past the "prime" targets. I don't see how DCA's closure would change things; it would be another hollow gesture not unlike the towing of 2500+ cars at BOS. But the bottom line is that Congress will not put up with the inconvenience of flying out of IAD, so DCA will stay open.

I can't imagine that it WOULDN'T open again. But perhaps National will again be limited to short-hop flights, forcing more people out to Dulles or BWI. Those short runways should be reason enough to limit flights.

(why, back in the old days, when I was growing up, Dulles and Friendship were for big trips, National for the East and maybe as far as Chicago.)

On a related note, it's a sin that National is the only airport with decent public transportation.

Yes, you can take Metro halfway to Dulles, but then you must transfer to a cab or the half-hourly super shuttle bus. If it shows up.

BWI isn't much better from DC. There's Amtrak, but the schedule is limited and only from Union Station. MARC trains don't run on the weekends.

And in both cases, any form of public transportation that involves two or three transfers or takes two to three hours to travel 35 miles isn't likely to be used.

As for super shuttle: after a few years of spotty service, they lost my business two weeks ago when they didn't show up for a confirmed reservation---and operators were unable to reach the driver by radio or phone.

Why close it? The planes that hit WTC came from BOS, 182 miles away. The plane that hit the Pentagon came from IAD, and the one that went down in Pennsylvania came out of EWR, also apparently targeted at Washington.

With modern commercial aircraft capable of moving at over 500 mph, how big a no-fly zone do you need to insure safety around DC? A hundred mile radius? That means worst case that controllers would have a maximum of a quarter hour to ascertain the intentions and intercept any wayward aircraft. Not realistic, IMO. Anything less than a hundred miles and it gets worse. And a hundred miles means you have to close IAD, BWI, and PHL too.

Keep DCA open. Closing it is an illogical, hysterical response.

Sorry to get off track, but Joanek mentioned "Friendship" airport. Was this the predecessor to BWI?

Also, Joanek talked about the distance to IAD and BWI from DC. I always wondered why BWI wasn't built midway between DC and Baltimore, with mass transit from both cities. Was that ever discussed?

FWIW, I agree completely with Joanek and Boatman.

Because I have a slight handicap, DCA has been my airport of choice. Not only accessible from the District by Metro, but in my experience, also much easier to hop a shuttle/flight to NYC/BOS than to try to struggle to get to BWI or IAD.

While the time I will spend here in DC is limited, it never ceases to amaze me that there is no direct or reliable means of public transportation to either airport.

I doubt that DCA will be closed permanently. That would only be a very shortsighted and reactionary response.

"Friendship International" was the official name for Baltimore's airport before they renamed it "Baltimore Washington International". It was originally built to be Baltimore's airport and only began to seriously market itself as an alternative Washington DC airport about 25 years ago.

My use of "friendship airport" was a little DC area humor---it divides the recent transplants from the "oldtimers." ( i.e., anyone here when either incarnations of the baseball Senators played. I saw them as a tot.)

And it was the Baltimore airport---I can't remember really using it much til the late 80's, though they have been marketing as Washington's easiest airport for at least 20 years.

(of course, that was before the current construction. Now I guess you'll have to arrive 4 hours early, you needed 2 to get into the terminal prior to the increased security measures)