The Federal Aviation Administration is further reducing flight arrivals at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.
In an email sent to AirlineGeeks on Thursday, the FAA stated it is slowing traffic into and out of the airport due to weather conditions and recovery efforts in the area following last week’s deadly aircraft collision over the Potomac River.
Two of the airport’s three runways have been closed while recovery crews operate in the river, impeding hourly flight arrivals.
According to a Bloomberg report, the FAA is further reducing the number of hourly arrivals from 28 to 26 to help ease the strain on air traffic controllers at the airport. The changes are expected to increase average flight delays from 40 minutes to 50, according to an email sent by the regulator and reviewed by Bloomberg.
Reagan National is typically limited to 60 slots for arrival and departure per hour – 37 of which are designated to air carriers and 11 for commuter and regional carriers. Others are for general aviation traffic, which are rarely used.
