san antonio – San Antonio’s long-running effort to gain nonstop air access to Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., spanned multiple presidential administrations, but may now be coming to an end.
Congress could approve new legislation in the coming days that would increase the number of slots for flights to and from DCA, and San Antonio has several top thermal power plants vying for one of those routes.
“This is the closest we've come in a while,” said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio).
Nonstop access to DCA from San Antonio has been hampered by a wall of federal regulations known as the Perimeter Rule, enacted in 1966, the year Reagan National Airport first began serving jets. It was installed to increase traffic to Washington Dulles International Airport.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and others, including Castro, argue that this governance has created economic barriers between San Antonio and the Washington area for too long.
Congress is expected to vote soon on a new Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization law that could include five new slots for flights to and from DCA. Castro said the current Senate bill includes expanding that access. He expects this version of the bill to be introduced in the House of Representatives and for his colleagues to approve it.
Otherwise, it could be several more years before Congress revisits border rules.
“A few years ago, slots were added. That extended to San Antonio and Austin as well,” Castro said. “We've been pushing ever since. It feels like we're getting closer and it's possible.”
San Antonio is the largest city in the United States without direct flights to DCA. much smaller markets such as Tulsa, Oklahoma; Akron, Ohio. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Castro said it operates DCA flights.
Read the full story in the San Antonio Business Journal.
Editor's note: This article was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.
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