“The proposal flies in the face of known safety concerns and known congestion concerns,” Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, said of the bill last year.
Months before Wednesday’s deadly aircraft collision in Washington, D.C., lawmakers were engaged in a fierce debate over safety at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
But less than a year ago, several Washington-area lawmakers warned that a bill adding more flights to the airport could pose serious safety concerns.
Last spring, a major aviation bill passed by Congress and signed by then-President Joe Biden added five new daily long-haul flights at Reagan National Airport.
‘We’ve been pretty plain about our [safety] concerns, but it isn’t a good time to speculate right now,’ Senator Tim Kaine said Thursday.
