Kaine, Warner Introduce Bill to Reduce Flights and Improve Safety at Reagan National

Virginia’s two U.S. senators are proposing new limits on flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, arguing that reducing congestion is necessary to improve safety following the January 2025 midair collision that killed 67 people.

Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner announced the DCA Air Safety Act, legislation that would cap hourly arrivals at Reagan National, place new restrictions on clusters of takeoffs and landings, and eliminate 30 flight slots over five years.

The proposal comes after the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the January 2025 collision. Kaine and Warner said the investigation identified airspace congestion and high air traffic controller workload among the factors that contributed to the disaster.

“In the wake of the midair collision that killed 67 people last year near DCA, Congress must do more to ensure that the highest level of safety regulations is in place to prevent future tragedies,” Kaine said.

The senator said any reforms that fail to address the number of flights using the airport would be insufficient.

“It’s obvious that any set of reforms that doesn’t address overcrowding at this airport—which sits along restricted airspace and is already operating beyond capacity—is dangerously insufficient,” Kaine said.

Warner said Congress should not wait for another accident before acting.

“We owe it to the victims of the fatal mid-air collision near DCA and their loved ones to take action and prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again,” Warner said.

Bill Would Cap Hourly Arrivals

Under the proposed legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration would be required to limit Reagan National’s Airport Arrival Rate to no more than 28 aircraft during any consecutive 60-minute period.

The bill would also address what the senators describe as “flight clustering,” when a large number of takeoffs and landings are concentrated within shorter periods rather than being evenly distributed throughout an hour.

The FAA would have 180 days to establish binding 30-minute limits intended to spread those flights more evenly.

Kaine and Warner point to conditions on the night of the January 2025 collision as evidence of the workload controllers can face.

According to information provided by the senators, a single air traffic controller managed 29 aircraft during one 18-minute period that night. Within one five-minute period, there were six takeoffs or landings.

The legislation would also eliminate 30 flight slots at Reagan National over five years.

At least 26 of those would be beyond-perimeter exemptions. Reagan National generally operates under a 1,250-mile perimeter rule, although Congress has authorized exemptions allowing certain nonstop flights beyond that distance.

The reductions would begin in 2028, with six slots eliminated each year. The process would be completed by the end of 2032.

According to Kaine and Warner, Reagan National has added 64 daily flight slots since 2000.

The senators have opposed previous efforts to add more exemptions to the airport’s perimeter rule, arguing that additional flights would place more pressure on an airport with limited runway and airspace capacity.

Public Would Have a Say in Slot Reductions

The legislation also lays out a public process for determining which flight slots would disappear.

The FAA would publish a proposed list of slots selected for elimination and provide a 60-day public comment period. The FAA would then publish a final list within 120 days after the comment period ends.

That process would give airlines, travelers and other affected parties an opportunity to respond before the reductions become final.

Warner described Reagan National’s runway as the busiest in the country and said the January 2025 accident demonstrated the potential consequences of congestion.

“The risks are now painfully clear, and Congress cannot wait for another tragedy to act,” Warner said. “I urge my colleagues to quickly support this legislation to cap hourly arrivals, reduce flight clustering, decrease slot exemptions, and put passenger safety first.”

Changes Follow Deadly 2025 Collision

The legislation follows the Jan. 29, 2025, collision between a commercial passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan National. All 67 people aboard the two aircraft were killed.

Kaine and Warner say they had raised concerns about congestion at the airport before the crash, including during congressional debates over adding flights and changing Reagan National’s slot and perimeter rules.

Following the NTSB investigation, the senators renewed their call for Congress to reduce the number of slots and adopt other safety measures.

They also supported the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Reform Act, or ROTOR Act, which addresses safety reforms involving Reagan National and similarly sized airports while seeking greater coordination between the FAA and Department of Defense.

Kaine and Warner also joined Kansas Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall in securing Senate passage of a resolution honoring the 67 people killed in the collision.

The new DCA Air Safety Act would go further by directly reducing the number of flights authorized at Reagan National and limiting how many aircraft can arrive during shorter periods.

The proposal will now require congressional approval before any of those changes can take effect.

For Kaine and Warner, the bill’s central argument is that improvements in technology, procedures, and coordination must be matched by reduced traffic at an airport operating within some of the nation’s most complicated airspace.

“For years, Senator Kaine and I have been warning that DCA is overcrowded and have fought to reduce the number of slot exemptions at the airport,” Warner said. “The risks are now painfully clear.”