Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

For the Metro station, see Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station. For the MLB team, see Washington Nationals.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
A satellite image of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in April 2002.
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerUnited States federal government
OperatorMetropolitan Washington Airports Authority
ServesWashington, D.C. metropolitan area
LocationCrystal City, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
OpenedJune 16, 1941; 83 years ago (1941-06-16)[1]
Hub forAmerican Airlines
OccupantsCoast Guard Air Station Washington
Time zoneEST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST)EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL5 m / 15 ft
Coordinates38°51′8″N 77°2′16″W / 38.85222°N 77.03778°W / 38.85222; -77.03778
Websiteflyreagan.com
Maps
A map showing the terminals runways and other structures of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01/19 2,094 7,169 Asphalt
04/22 1,497 5,000 Asphalt
15/33 1,586 5,204 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations310,280
Total passengers25,453,581
Source: Federal Aviation Administration,[2] Passenger traffic[3]
Washington National Airport Terminal
and South Hangar Line
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is located in Virginia
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is located in the United States
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
LocationThomas Ave.
Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Area861 acres (348 ha)[5][6]
Built1941 (1941), 83 years ago
Architectural styleModern
NRHP reference No.97001111[4]
VLR No.000-0045
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 12, 1997
Designated VLRJune 27, 1995[7]

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (IATA: DCA, ICAO: KDCA, FAA LID: DCA) is a public airport in Crystal City, Virginia, United States, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Washington, D.C. It is the closest airport to Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, the 24th-busiest airport in the nation, the busiest airport in the Washington metropolitan area, and the second busiest in the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area.

The airport opened in 1941 and was originally named Washington National Airport. Part of the original terminal is still in use as Terminal 1. A larger second terminal, now known as Terminal 2, opened in 1997. In 1998, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed a bill renaming the airport in honor of the 40th president of the United States Ronald Reagan, who was in office from 1981 to 1989.[8][9][10][11]

Reagan National serves 98 nonstop destinations as of October 2023.[12] It is a hub for American Airlines. It is an international airport, but has no immigration and customs facilities and international flights are restricted to those with U.S. Customs and Border Protection preclearance facilities, including major airports in Canada and some destinations in the Caribbean. Reagan National is also home to Coast Guard Air Station Washington.

The airport served over 25.4 million passengers in 2023, the second most of any of the three airports serving the region, and a new passenger record for the airport.[13] The airport's main runway is the busiest in the nation.[14]

The airport is owned by the federal government and is one of two operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) that serve the Washington metropolitan area; the other, also located in Northern Virginia is Dulles International Airport, located about 25 miles (40 km) to the west in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.[2][15]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference mwaa.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for DCA PDF
  3. ^ "Reagan Air Traffic Statistics". Mwaa.com. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. January 2024. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "National Register Information System – (#97001111)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  5. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for DCA PDF, effective October 31, 2024.
  6. ^ "DCA airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  8. ^ Kellman, Laurie (February 5, 1998). "Clinton to sign bill renaming National Airport for Reagan". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Associated Press. p. A3. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  9. ^ "What's in an eponym? Celebrity airports – could there be a commercial benefit in naming?". Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  10. ^ Dingfelder, Sadie; Morris, Holly J. (April 1, 2015). "National? Reagan? DCA? 17 years later, locals still can't agree on the name of the airport in question". The Washington Post Express. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  11. ^ Bender, Andrew (April 2, 2015). "Washington's Never-Ending Controversy: What To Call Its Airport". Forbes. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "Air Traffic Statistics" (PDF). Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. October 2023.
  13. ^ "Reagan National Airport Sets New Passenger Record In 2023, Dulles Airport Rebounds From 2022". gazetteleader.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "mwaa.com - Reagan National's Runway is Busiest in America". www.mwaa.com. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Airport Data and Information Portal". adip.faa.gov. Retrieved January 2, 2020.