Virginia Senators Vote to Delay FAA Extension If No Vote on Reagan Flights

The long-awaited Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill hit another hurdle on May 9 as two Democratic senators said they would block fast-tracking the legislation unless a provision adding more flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is removed.

The House and Senate have been racing against the clock to pass the bipartisan, five-year FAA reauthorization bill that addresses the 3,000-person shortage of air traffic controllers, provides safety standards to prevent airport runway collisions, and creates airline refund policies.

The House voted on May 8 to extend the original May 10 deadline by a week, but this new obstacle complicates the timeline for lawmakers to pass the bill before the clock runs out and FAA programs expire.

The Senate must now confirm the extension with unanimous consent to approve it ahead of the original deadline. If the Senate votes to extend the deadline, lawmakers could wait until the following week to pass the legislation and consider any amendments.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the lawmakers against the fast-track, say approving the extension will give the Senate enough time to pass the bill without considering any amendments, including theirs to remove the provision regarding additional flights at Reagan National, which services the Washington area.

Mr. Kaine and Mr. Warner argued that adding five new roundtrip flights would overburden the busy airport, which almost experienced a collision on April 18 when air traffic controllers cleared two planes to enter the same runway simultaneously. The two planes came within 400 feet of colliding before two different controllers ordered the pilots to slam on the brakes.

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A similar incident occurred the day prior at JFK International Airport in New York City.

“Last month’s near miss at DCA is a flashing red warning light that this airport is overburdened and that cramming more flights onto the busiest runway in America is a terrible idea,” Mr. Kaine and Mr. Warner wrote in a statement on May 9.

“But now, the same senators who crafted a provision in the FAA bill to do just that, behind closed doors and against the advice of all four capital region senators, are asking us to smooth a procedural path to the finish line for that bill without a promise to bring our amendment—or any amendment—up for a vote.

“We can’t, in good conscience, greenlight that plan until we have a commitment that there will be an opportunity to put our amendment to a vote and to persuade our colleagues to prioritize the safety of millions of passengers over a few senators’ desire for a direct flight home,” they added.

‘Monopoly’

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of four bipartisan lawmakers who negotiated the FAA reauthorization bill on April 29, told The Epoch Times that he believes the reluctance to add flights to Reagan National is not about concerns over possible runway collisions.

Instead, he accused United Airlines of lobbying to retain a “monopoly” at the competing Dulles International Airport, which also services the Washington area.

“United is lobbying furiously to stop any new flights into and out of Washington Reagan Airport because they don’t want competition,” Mr. Cruz said.

The Epoch Times contacted United Airlines for comment, but a representative referred questions to the Coalition to Protect America’s Regional Airports.

Mr. Cruz wants additional flights at Reagan National because it could improve travel options for many living in rural areas around the country.

Officials constrained travel options in and out of Washington with a decades-old perimeter rule that limits the length of flights leaving Reagan National to a 1,250-mile radius from the city. Lawmakers living west of Minneapolis, Dallas, and Oklahoma City must catch a flight at Dulles International or Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport instead. However, there are exceptions, including direct flights from Reagon National to Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said adding flights to any busy airport requires the right resources to do so safely.

“Anytime we have a busy airport, and we have lots of them, you’ve got to have trained professionals that are there, and they’ve got to have the means and the resources to do their job correctly,” he told The Epoch Times.