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Over 40 percent of DCA flights were delayed or canceled last month
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/03/20/reagan-airport-delays-cancellations-rise/
Delays at Reagan National Airport tripled and cancellations spiked in the wake of January’s deadly collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter.
Last month, 34 percent of flight arrivals were delayed — compared with 11 percent in February 2024. And more than 7 percent of flights were canceled, compared with half a percent last year. Delays have dropped in recent weeks, but since the crash more than 1 in 4 flights were late.
“For the traveling public, we apologize for some of the delays and inconveniences but I think everyone will understand that safety is paramount,” Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President Jack Potter said at a board meeting Wednesday where the numbers were shared.
The Jan. 29 crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet, which killed 67 people, came after numerous close calls in the congested airspace around National. Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration has reduced the number of arrivals allowed at the airport every hour and stopped all air traffic whenever a helicopter was nearby. Last week, the FAA announced permanent restrictions on “nonessential” helicopter traffic in the area.
Helicopters are also not currently allowed to use “visual separation” to avoid other aircraft in most situations. The helicopter crew on the Black Hawk had confirmed to controllers that it would use visual separation, in which the pilot keeps an eye out for traffic instead of relying on radar or other technology. Experts say that the crew may have mistaken the lights of a different jet for the plane in their path.
Delays at Reagan National Airport tripled and cancellations spiked in the wake of January’s deadly collision between a passenger plane and a military helicopter.
Last month, 34 percent of flight arrivals were delayed — compared with 11 percent in February 2024. And more than 7 percent of flights were canceled, compared with half a percent last year. Delays have dropped in recent weeks, but since the crash more than 1 in 4 flights were late.
“For the traveling public, we apologize for some of the delays and inconveniences but I think everyone will understand that safety is paramount,” Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President Jack Potter said at a board meeting Wednesday where the numbers were shared.
The Jan. 29 crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet, which killed 67 people, came after numerous close calls in the congested airspace around National. Since then, the Federal Aviation Administration has reduced the number of arrivals allowed at the airport every hour and stopped all air traffic whenever a helicopter was nearby. Last week, the FAA announced permanent restrictions on “nonessential” helicopter traffic in the area.
Helicopters are also not currently allowed to use “visual separation” to avoid other aircraft in most situations. The helicopter crew on the Black Hawk had confirmed to controllers that it would use visual separation, in which the pilot keeps an eye out for traffic instead of relying on radar or other technology. Experts say that the crew may have mistaken the lights of a different jet for the plane in their path.
Living in Arlington, National Airport is closest for me. But Dulles is looking more attractive these days. Good thing both are metro accessible and there's MARC train to BWI for folks on the MD side.