DC mayor: 'Certainly a conversation to be had' about National Airport traffic

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday on MSNBC there is “certainly a conversation to be had” about traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“There have been questions about the level of congestion at Reagan National Airport. It's one of the busiest airports in the country. Should measures be taken to reduce the amount of air traffic in that area?” host Ana Cabrera asked Bowser.

“Well, I think [that's] certainly a conversation to be had. It's argued almost annually about adding slots here. I do think that's a conversation for another day, but it has our attention,” Bowser said.

On Wednesday night, a collision occurred between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines flight near National Airport. Officials have said there were no survivors of the Washington metro area crash, and at least 28 bodies had been recovered as of 8 a.m. local time.

“This airport handles a lot of people safely from around the nation … around the world, and we want that to continue to happen,” Bowser said. “But we know that all Americans, the flying public and certainly the families who have lost loved ones need answers.”

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the famed “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot, told The New York Times on Wednesday that “a lot” of the technology at National Airport “is old.”

According to a Virginia history website, the late 1930s marked the start of National Airport’s construction.

“It hasn’t changed much since then,” Sullenberger said. “Of course, we’ve added technology to it. But a lot of the technology is old.”

President Trump said the Wednesday crash “should have been prevented.”

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” the president posted on Truth Social. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time.”

“It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane,” he continued. “This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!!”

The Hill has reached out to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for comment.

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