Washington Dulles International Airport is in trouble.
Sometime in 2015, more people will travel through Reagan National Airport than Dulles.
Dulles, 14 times the size
of National, is expected to see about 20.7 million passengers next
year, while National is expected to get 22.7 million.
Last year, Dulles saw 21.9 million travelers while National had 20.4 million.
The development is
troubling Virginia leaders and the agency that manages both airports.
They say that if National continues to outpace its larger neighbor, it
could have serious financial and safety implications for the entire
region.
“The shift to National —
it’s a serious problem for the financial viability of Dulles,” said
Jonathan Gifford, director of the Center for Transportation
Public-Private Partnership Policy at George Mason University.
In addition to Dulles and
National, travelers in the region also can use Baltimore-Washington
International, still the region’s top airport for passenger traffic at
22.5 million in 2013, largely because of low-cost carrier Southwest
Airlines’ significant presences there.
Among the three options,
Dulles is widely seen as the biggest hassle to use, partially because of
its 30-mile distance from the heart of the District of Columbia and
lack of a nearby Metro stop.
National, on the other
hand, is easily accessible by Metro trains and sits just 5 miles across
from the District in Arlington County.
Many also blame Congress,
which has relaxed federal rules restricting flights at National to
facilitate nonstop service to various home states.
The strict rules were
part of an effort to fuel growth at Dulles, and they worked for years.
Flights longer than 1,250 miles were banned at National.
Members of Congress, many
from Western states, began weakening the rules in 2000, allowing 26
additional flights at National to cities like Phoenix, San Francisco and
Denver.
The airport authority’s
biggest fear is that Congress will scrap the restrictions altogether in
the upcoming reauthorization process to fund the Federal Aviation
Administration.
In 2009, Sen. John
McCain, R-Ariz., floated such a proposal, arguing that the increased
service would lead to lower prices and more choices for consumers.
Virginia politicians,
including retiring Republican Rep. Frank R. Wolf and Democratic Sen.
Mark R. Warner fought the effort and continue to believe that the
relaxed rules are shortsighted.
“Northern Virginia’s
economy is strongest when both major airports are in a position to
thrive,” said Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va. “It does not make sense for
Reagan National, with an area of 860 acres, to be on pace to have more
travelers passing through it than Dulles, which comprises 12,000 acres.”
Airport officials think Dulles’s problems are temporary. They say the travel market is cyclical and that Dulles will rebound.
“The future of Dulles is bright,” said Jack Potter, president and CEO of the airport authority.
Dulles could stand to get
a boost with the opening of Metro’s new Silver Line. The second phase
of the $5.6 billion line, expected to be finished in 2018, will include
an airport station.
Other reasons to be
hopeful include Air China’s launch of nonstop service to Beijing and the
start of daily service by budget carrier Frontier, said Scott York,
chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.
“There are obviously a few clouds over Dulles,” he said. “But I also see a bit of sunshine.”
- Source: http://www.timesdispatch.com
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