Washington's DCA Airport Is About to Be More Connected Than Ever

Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is the most convenient gateway to the US capital, only a quick metro ride away from downtown DC.

But unlike other major US airports, travelers rarely see new long-haul flight routes being added at DCA. That’s because the US Department of Transportation (DOT) prohibits airlines from flying from Reagan to destinations beyond 1,250 miles—unless they are granted something called a “beyond perimeter exemption.”

On October 16, however, the DOT tentatively approved the following five new long-distance flight routes from DCA, an agency spokesperson confirmed with Condé Nast Traveler:

• Alaska Airlines service to San Diego, California (SAN)
• American Airlines service to San Antonio, Texas (SAT)
• Delta Air Lines service to Seattle, Washington (SEA)
• Southwest Airlines service to Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS)
• United Airlines service to San Francisco, California (SFO).

The DCA slot exemptions were granted by the DOT as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. Congress required that the selected routes would either (1) provide nonstop service to beyond-perimeter airports that do not already have direct flights to DCA, or (2) have a positive impact on competition in markets with existing nonstop service to DCA.

But why does this DOT rule even exist? “The original perimeter rule was meant in part to shift long-haul flying to newly-opened Washington Dulles airport and also was supported by local groups who didn’t like the noise at the close-in airport,” explains Gary Leff, an aviation expert and Condé Nast Traveler travel specialist. “From 1966 to 1980 the limit was 650 miles. Then from 1981 to 1986 it was 1000 miles.”

Prior to this week’s decision, the federal government had approved three rounds of perimeter exemptions at DCA over the past 20 years. Today, DCA has 20 round-trip flights a day to destinations farther than 1250 miles from the airport, Leff says. This does not include the five new slots, which have yet to launch.