The recent collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport has highlighted long-standing concerns over airspace congestion in the Washington, D.C. area. Lawmakers noted that helicopter routes, such as those for Black Hawk helicopters, intersect heavily with commercial flight paths. With Reagan National Airport handling well over the designed capacity of 15 million passengers annually, the issue of traffic distribution among nearby airports has become critical in ensuring air safety and efficiency, especially given the numerous helicopter flights in the vicinity.
Those of us who represent the region have often tried to make the case that, listen, we've got a couple of other airports here, let's spread the traffic out among the airports.
The runways now see well over 20 million a year, which is significantly more than they were designed to accommodate, raising safety concerns.
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