FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Airline passengers have experienced serious disruptions at Washington’s Reagan National Airport because of new rules that trigger runway closures when President Donald Trump flies to and from the White House aboard his helicopter, according to people aware of the restrictions, flight tracking data and federal records.
The stricter requirements — imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration after the midair collision of an Army helicopter and American Airlines passenger jet last month that killed 67 people — have forced dozens of airliners bound for National to circle in holding patterns or divert to other airports including Dulles International, Baltimore-Washington International Marshall and Richmond International.
American Airlines pilots have been told they might need to carry more fuel to account for potential delays when they are flying into National, according to a company memo obtained by The Washington Post.
Passengers have noticed the spate of disruptions, raising questions on social media in recent days. “Anyone know what’s going on with air traffic?” one user posted on a Reddit page focused on the Washington area Saturday, when Trump traveled by Marine One to a political conference in the Maryland suburbs. The user said their spouse’s pilot told passengers there was “VIP movement in the DC airspace and they don’t want any commercial aircraft there right now.”
The FAA has rolled out restrictions in the airspace around National in the weeks after the Jan. 29 crash, seeking to reduce the chance of further encounters between helicopters and airliners.
In the immediate aftermath, the agency ended helicopter flights in a designated area along the Potomac River, with exceptions for critical flights such as law enforcement and presidential flights on Marine One.
On Feb. 13, an additional FAA safety measure went into place affecting a broader area: air traffic controllers were told to discontinue use of “visual separation” rules to maintain a safe distance between aircraft, said two people briefed on the restrictions, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly. Visual separation requires pilots to see nearby aircraft and steer clear of any danger.
Instead, air traffic controllers and pilots must now follow rules for “radar separation,” which requires 1.5 miles of lateral distance between aircraft or 500 feet of altitude separation. Because National Airport is so close to downtown Washington and the White House, that effectively shuts down traffic along the busy flight paths when Marine One and helicopters supporting the president’s travel are in the air.
The policy change quickly had an impact. On Feb. 14, when Trump left the White House on the first leg of a trip to Florida, roughly 30 airliners bound for National were kept circling in the sky, publicly available flight tracking data shows. At least nine aircraft diverted to other airports. Similar disruptions have happened in the days since, the data shows.
The FAA said in a statement that Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy took action after the crash to improve safety, imposing the restrictions.
“For years, non-critical helicopter traffic congested the DCA airspace, which created challenges for controllers and pilots,” the agency said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. A Marine Corps spokesman said the service, which is responsible for the president’s flights, “will follow all applicable regulations from the FAA at all locations.”
The disruptions caused by the stricter rules are a preview of the balance officials are likely to have to strike as they weigh how to ensure safety in the skies over Washington.
The designated helicopter routes near the airport come close to flight paths used by the airliners that transport 25 million passengers a year in and out of National. The Post has reported that risks in the busy airspace were well documented years before the crash.
On the night of the collision between the Army Black Hawk helicopter and the American flight from Wichita, staff in the National air traffic control tower were relying on visual separation, which calls for helicopter pilots to confirm they can see airline traffic and will avoid it. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the crash investigation, has said the Black Hawk was flying at 278 feet, above a 200-foot ceiling on the helicopter route. Experts have said the helicopter crew, when confirming visual separation to the tower, may have mistaken another jet for the American flight.
Duffy said the limits to helicopter flights in the designated area would remain in place at least until the NTSB completes its preliminary investigation into the crash.
Airline traffic has been required to wait for Marine One in the past. But under the new policy, the disruptions have become more severe, according to the people familiar with the changes. In part that is because a U.S. Park Police helicopter circles the White House before Marine One arrives or departs, flight tracking data shows. In the past, controllers could continue to allow airline flights to operate while that helicopter was in the air, but now they must hold the commercial traffic, one of the people said.
American Airlines, a major operator at National, told pilots Feb. 16 to be prepared for holds for helicopter traffic and said their aircraft may be loaded with extra fuel to accommodate the additional time in the air, according to an email obtained by The Post. The airline said the holds were due to “essential” flights, including lifesaving operations, law enforcement activity and presidential transportation. The memo said the delays were expected to be about 20 minutes but could last longer.
Planes typically arrive and depart National every few minutes. But on Feb. 14, the day after the policy change, flights at National came to a stop around 2:25 p.m. Normal traffic didn’t resume for almost an hour.
Flight tracking data from ADS-B Exchange, a site that gathers publicly available data on aircraft movements, showed an aircraft circling over the White House. An FAA bulletin issued around the same time told airliners to expect disruptions.
“USERS CAN EXPECT DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL DELAYS/AIRBORNE HOLDING INTO THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT OF UP TO 60 MINUTES DUE TO VIP MOVEMENT,” the message read.
While departing flights waited on the ground that day, roughly 30 jets bound for National circled over Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Nine flights ultimately diverted to BWI, Dulles and other airports in Virginia — a sign they were running low on fuel.
A passenger on one diverted American Airlines flight said she could see National Harbor from her seat on the right side of the plane as the jet began its final approach into National Airport. But then she felt the plane pull back up and the captain got on the intercom to explain that they’d be holding due to “VIP movement.”
The passenger spoke on the condition of anonymity because she is not permitted to speak to the media without permission from her employer.
The plane continued to circle before the captain informed passengers they’d have to divert to Dulles. But the confusion did not end there, she said. On the ground, American was scrambling to find gate agents to help passengers.
“People were panicked because they were afraid of missing their flights and some people had already missed their connections entirely,” she said. “Some had cars or car rentals at National or reservations in that part of town.”
Trump left the White House on Marine One at 3:08 p.m. bound for Joint Base Andrews, where the presidential planes are based, for a trip to Florida. Flights resumed at National a few minutes later, the tracking data shows.
Courtesy: Washington Post
