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1 1 (July 27, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemij0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ Sa Research Service House-Passed FAA Bill Leaves Existing Reagan National Airport Slot and Perimeter Rules Intact July 27, 2023 On July 20, 2023, the House of Representatives passed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation H.R. 3935, leaving in place the controversial flight limits (known as the slot and perimeter rules) at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Whether or not to change these flight limits is likely to be debated again in the near future when the Senate works on reauthorizing FAA program funding and civil aviation laws. Airlines flying to and from DCA are subject to slot and perimeter rules set by federal law and regulation (49 U.S.C. §41718; 14 C.F.R. §93.123). A slot is an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) reservation required for each takeoff or landing. By controlling the frequency of takeoffs and landings, a slot system is typically put in place at airports with capacity constraint to ensure safety and optimize efficiency. Federal law and regulation set the total number of flights that can be handled in a given period of time at DCA. A round- trip flight serving DCA would require two slots, or a slot pair. Flights to and from DCA are also restricted by a statutory perimeter rule that limits nonstop flights to a 1,250-mile distance unless they are granted an exemption by law. Flights of 1,250 miles or less are referred to as within-perimeter. Exempted flights are referred to as beyond-perimeter. The perimeter rule, which dates to the opening of Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in the early 1960s, was originally designed to move most long-distance airline traffic serving the Washington, DC, area to the new airport. DCA is limited to a maximum of 67 hourly slots for flights both within- and beyond-perimeter. This maximum was established through a combination of federal regulations and statutes. Regulations at 14 C.F.R. §93.123 established 60 hourly slots at DCA, while statutes have granted an additional maximum of seven slots and have permitted slots to be used in different hours. The DCA slot rule has existed for over two decades, although the statutory limitations on the number of slots available have been modified over that period. Prior to congressional action in 2000, all slots for flights arriving or departing DCA were required to operate within-perimeter. As part of FAA reauthorization legislation in 2000, 2003, and 2012, Congress Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12206 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress