Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Disruption
I've been flying in and out of Washington National airport since I was 18 years old and headed to college in Williamsburg. It was slated to close when Dulles Airport (located in what then were exurbs) opened up, but that didn't quite happen-- the convenience of a close-in airport to members of Congress and other powerful people kept National open while city airports like Miegs Field in Chicago and City Airport in Detroit were headed to obscurity.
The terrible accident there when a military helicopter and commercial jet collided seemed almost inevitable to some. But until it went wrong, people assumed it would just work out.
Now they are not in a position to close Reagan National even if they wanted to-- Dulles just does not have the capacity to serve the market, and Baltimore-Washington is just too far away.
This could be an area in which federal employees become re-valued, in order to allow those powerful interests to continue to be served.
