Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Washington · United States · America/New_York
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Regional Hub
Calculated from destination count, airline diversity, and haul-mix coverage. More signals (customs/border access, ground handling capacity) will be added as the dataset grows.
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ATC Frequencies12
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Source: adsb.lol — community ADS-B network. Approximate local traffic within 40nm, not a definitive schedule.
Aircraft Spotted Here
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Airline Records in Dataset16
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Airport HistoryEst. 1941
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport opened in 1941 as a New Deal-era federal project just across the Potomac from downtown Washington, D.C., and has remained one of the country's most tightly regulated and closely watched airports ever since. Renamed for President Reagan in 1998, it has been the site both of major aviation milestones and of two of the most consequential incidents in U.S. commercial aviation history — the 1982 Air Florida crash and the January 2025 midair collision with an Army helicopter.
The airport opens on June 16, 1941, funded through a $15 million federal appropriation secured by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after Congress lifted restrictions on federal airport development.
A North Terminal opens in 1958 and is connected to the original Charles M. Goodman-designed terminal by 1961, expanding capacity as air travel demand grows.
The airport installs the first grooved runway at a civil airport in the United States, an early safety innovation to improve wet-weather braking.
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashes into the 14th Street Bridge and the Potomac River shortly after takeoff in icy conditions, killing 78 people.
Operation of the airport passes from the U.S. federal government to the newly created Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) under a long-term lease.
A $450 million terminal designed by César Pelli opens on July 27, 1997, adding two parking garages and substantial new capacity.
Congress renames the airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; President Bill Clinton signs the legislation on February 6, 1998, Reagan's 87th birthday.
Concourse E opens as part of the 'Project Journey' modernization program, adding 14 regional-jet gates and new security checkpoints.
On January 29, 2025, PSA Airlines Flight 5342 collides with a U.S. Army helicopter on approach, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft — the deadliest U.S. commercial aviation accident since 2009.
Wikipedia, flyreagan.com official history page, and contemporaneous news coverage of the January 2025 collision. The 2025 accident's investigation and any resulting airspace/regulatory changes were still active/ongoing as of 2026 and should be treated as subject to update.