Reagan National Airport

Reagan National Airport (or the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) is situated 5 km or 3 miles south of Washington D.C.’s business district. It is in Arlington County in Virginia, USA. The airport was known as Washington National Airport, but the name was changed in honor of President Reagan in 1998.

Background

The airport was built in 1940–41 by John McShain. The airport opened on June 16, 1941. Legislation was passed in 1945 declaring the airport as inside Virginia but under Congressional jurisdiction.

During the 1950s, the airport underwent expansion as usage increased. Most notable among the additions during the period were runway extensions. By 1956, the North Terminal was completed. The Metro station service was inaugurated in 1977.

Renaming of the Airport

Control by the federal government ended in 1987 after President Reagan signed into law creating the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. It was on February 6, 1998 when President Clinton signed the law that changed the airport name to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. This was in honor of Reagan’s 87th birthday.

Security

Security in the airport is tight due to the airport’s closeness to the Pentagon, the White House and the Capitol. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, tighter security measures were imposed. This included banning aircraft with seats numbering more than 156 (the ban was lifted on April 2002).

A ban on the River Visual approach on Reagan National Airport was implemented. This was also lifted on April 2002. There was also a law stipulating passengers remain in their seats half an hour after takeoff and before landing. The person violating this law would be questioned by law enforcement officials. This regulation was removed on July 2005.

There are also perimeter restrictions. The airport cannot entertain flights to locations beyond a 1,250 mile radius.

The exceptions are the following: US Airways (8 slots working as 3x Phoenix, 1x Las Vegas); Frontier Airlines (6 slots operating as 3x Denver); Alaska Airlines (6 slots working as 2x Seattle / Tacoma, 1x Los Angeles); Delta Air Lines (2 slots operating as 1x Salt Lake City) and United Airlines (2 slots working as 1x Denver).

Ground Transportation

There are several kinds of transportation available. The Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metro station is situated at an elevated stage hooked up to Terminals B and C. The service lines are Blue and Yellow.

There is also a Metrobus service. The service is on weekend mornings just before the rail station starts its service. There are taxis available as well. Almost all the taxicabs are metered.

Airlines

There are many airlines available. These include Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Comair. Other airline services include Pinnacle Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways Chautauqua Airlines and Republic Airlines. These airlines make use of the various terminals and have different destinations.

Reagan National Airport is also known as “Reagan”, “National” and “Reagan National”. By whatever name it is called, it remains one of the best known airports in the country.