Good news for travelers -- WTOP reports that JetBlue has won landing rights at National Airport. more ›

At this morning's meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board, new chair and former postmaster general Jack Potter announced that, as promised, a statue of Ronald Reagan will be unveiled at the airport on November 1. more ›

Were you one of the lucky few who were able to postpone your Monday morning commute until this morning's Metro mess was resolved? Well, we're hearing that normal service between Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road has now been restored. more ›

On September 10, 2009, John Moore, a 44-year-old Metro employee who was working on a section of track between Braddock Road and National Airport was struck by an oncoming train. Moore later died as a result of those injuries, becoming the third Metro employee fatality in a three-month span after the June 22 Red Line crash. Now that you've been reminded of that, you'll probably just as flabbergasted as I was to hear that a group of Metro workers were nearly run down last month near the same section of track where Moore was killed. Adam Tuss reports via Twitter that a "near miss," involving a group of maintenance workers, occurred last month: the workers were on the outbound tracks, when a broken-down train on the inbound side led Metro operators to reroute trains to the outbound side -- but they never told the workers that the trains were coming. Luckily, someone saw the train coming and the workers were able to avoid injury. At least Metro immediately reported the incident to the Tri-State Oversight Committee. more ›

Southwest Airlines will purchase fellow low-cost carrier AirTran for a tidy $1.42 billion plus AirTrans's sizable debt, according to a report by the Associated Press. Southwest, which is already the country's largest air carrier based on number of passengers, is making the move primarily to compete with Delta in Atlanta (the one major section of the country where Southwest currently doesn't fly), but the merger will definitely create some waves in the Washington, D.C. area. more ›

We know that several of you have an aversion -- whether for political or other curmudgeonly reasons -- to calling the airport in Arlington by its full, proper name. But you might not be able to escape the Reagan-ocity of DCA, come 2011. The Associated Press reports that the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has come to an agreement with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to install a bronze statue of The Gipper right in front of Terminal A. The Foundation hopes to have the statue up by fall 2011. In other news, this editor's compromise to rename the airport "Rappin' Ronnie Reagan National Airport" sits there, unused. more ›

UPDATE: Via ARLnow, check out some video recently posted to YouTube of the actual crash. more ›

JetBlue this week announced that its new flights out of National Airport, which are expected to begin in November, will service just three cities: Boston, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. It's good news for those of you who travel to Boston or Florida frequently, but to be honest, we had kinda been hoping for more. more ›

JetBlue announced today that it will start serving National Airport later this year. The airline already serves the D.C. area's other two airports, BWI and Dulles. more ›

No-frills flight purveyor Southwest Airlines has been hoping to move in to DCA for a long time now, but deals between other airlines on landing and takeoff slots have thus far prevented them from going forward. Now, as the Post reports, they're asking the feds to get involved:

On Monday, the low-cost, Texas-based carrier asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to force US Airways and Delta Air Lines to auction off 14 landing and takeoff slots at the airport to the highest bidder in a public sale.

Flights from the District to destinations warm and tropical canceled on the eve of spring break? Awful news. The terrific winds and snowstorms north of us forced dozens of carriers to delay or cancel flights out of the District over the weekend, according to ABC7. That's dreadful news for anyone who had plans to leave the Capital behind and head for warmer climes -- but not the worst news from the D.C. area's airports this evening. more ›

The airfield at National Airport reopened for flight operations as of 11 a.m. this morning, according to a message on its web site. more ›

WTOP's Hank Silverberg reports that the flight schedule in and out of Reagan National Airport is returning to normalcy this morning after a pipe burst yesterday, flooding Terminal C. US Airways, which operates in the affected terminal, resumed flights at 10 a.m. -- but long lines and waits are to be expected due to the backlog created by the shutdown last night. Silverberg notes that it took a hundred people working through the night to clean up the mess caused by the flooding; all complicated by the fact that electricity to the terminal was shut off throughout the evening. Those flying in and out of DCA today -- especially on US Airways -- are encouraged to call (the US Airways hotline: 800-428-4322) and double-check on the status of potential delays. more ›

WMATA announced this afternoon that it intends to make the holiday weekend travel plans of people who will be flying in and out of National Airport a lot more difficult. more ›

You'll have to forgive us for only getting around to this juicy piece of non-news today, but it appears as if Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board chairman H.R. Crawford might have suggested that he had heard from a friend's friend on the Hill about some rumors that people maybe perhaps were thinking about removing Ronald Reagan's name from its current place preceding the words "National Airport." Well, why doesn't he just call the Gipper a communist while he's at it! But seriously, those of you looking for a fast-track to lobotomization should go right ahead and read the large amount of comments left on the Examiner "report," but we'll sum it up here for you: the right-wingers don't like it, the left-wingers seem apathetic, and the whole thing turns into a ridiculous pissing contest between Obamans and Reaganites about health care. (I think.) No word on whether or not the Chairman has even considered renaming the airport "Rappin' Ronnie Reagan National Airport," which seems like the perfect compromise to this editor. more ›

The Post updates with word that all the negative press from this morning's stories about the nine Muslim passengers who were booted off of an AirTran flight on Thursday has provoked an apology from the airline. The passengers were removed from a flight heading from National Airport to Orlando.

"We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did on New Year's Day, but we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount and cannot be compromised," read a company statement. "We apologize to all of the passengers -- to the nine who had to undergo extensive interviews from the authorities and to the 95 who ultimately made the flight. Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time on New Year's Day, and we regret it."

Seems like just about everything about driving a car in this city is becoming more expensive these days. WTOP reports that parking fees at both National and Dulles airports will go up on June 1. more ›

WTOP is reporting that the the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority plans to ban taxicabs without meters from taxi stands at Reagan National Airport. That's good. Regular roundtrips to DCA are the D.C. taxi driver's bread and butter, and the airport taxi stands have dispatch employees there to assist passengers who are ready and able to enforce the meter rule. more ›

The rush to get out of D.C. to family Thanksgiving celebrations has already begun, but if you're still reading DCist, you're probably still at work and planning on leaving within the next 72 hours. Whether opening up that military airspace will really make a difference at Washington area airports remains to be seen, but WMATA has announced a special Thanksgiving weekend schedule that could stand to help out many of you trying to take public... more ›

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that the Washington Convention Center will be officially renamed to honor D.C.'s first elected mayor, Walter E. Washington. Apparently the D.C. Council approved the name change last year, though we can't recall having heard about it at the time. The idea is a fine one though, and Washington is certainly worthy of having his legacy honored. So what's the problem? As of Nov. 5, the building will officially become... more ›

The new record for the longest amount of consecutive days without measurable rainfall at Washington National Airport is scheduled to end later today, as showers and possibly a pretty heavy thunderstorm are predicted for this afternoon. But CapitalWeather.com says this rain event won't be enough to make a dent in the area's drought, as the rain will be short-lived and the amounts modest for the most part. Still, it's been a while since you had... more ›

It's finally over; summer's soon to be actually gone. As we slumber this evening, the season that wouldn't end will at last lift its hot, wet blanket from our area, and autumn will descend with her cool nights and humidity-free days. Summer hung on like a trooper, though, lasting nearly three weeks past the autumnal equinox, and presenting us with--as our friends at CapitalWeather.com noted--three straight days of 90 degree temperature. This has happened only... more ›

Now this is a "Wow" photo. Flickr user chapulin colorado woke up at some ridiculous hour to take this early morning shot of a plane taking off from Washington National Airport. The dramatic 8 second exposure from Gravelly Point Park leaves us only with the light trails as they arch up into the air. EXIF.
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Today tens of thousands of District children return to school, leaving behind the late-morning starts, extended curfews and breaks at the public swimming pool that summer afforded them. And though the year will proceed as it usually does, they will be part of a school system that has seen drastic changes over the last few months. Now under mayoral control and led by new chancellor Michelle Rhee, the District's public schools have entered a new... more ›

If you're heading to any Yellow line destinations this weekend, including National Airport, you should make alternate plans. Metro is shutting down the Yellow line rail bridge over the Potomac River this weekend to do track maintenance and conduct an annual bridge inspection. The closure begins tonight at 10 p.m. and lasts through Sunday at midnight. Directions from WMATA: When a Yellow Line train arrives at the King Street Metrorail station, passengers must transfer to... more ›

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Washington Post has devoted an extraordinary amount of front page column inches to the record breaking temperatures D.C. saw yesterday. At 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, the temperature hit 102 degrees at Reagan National Airport, according to the National Weather Service, breaking the previous all time high record for Aug. 8, of 101 degrees, set in 1930. The oppressive heat also had a number of other newsworthy... more ›

>> The Red Line has resumed normal service after a suspicious package closed the Dupont Circle, Woodley Park, and Cleveland Park stations for several hours. >> Temperatures hit 102 at Reagan National Airport at 1 p.m., breaking a nearly 80-year-old record by one degree. [WaPo] >> The Adams Morgan Safeway closed briefly Sunday evening due to a bomb scare. [City Desk] >> Damage from the Capitol Lounge/Trover Shop fire is estimated at about $100,000... more ›

>> The young women killed in last night's Beltway accident have been identified, and two of them graduated from high school only hours before. [AP and WTOP] >> A Judge ruled that rapper 50 Cent cannot be compelled to testify in the civil case against NBA star Allen Iverson stemming from a 2005 scuffle at Eyebar. [WaPo] >> A woman was humiliated by a TSA employee for trying to take her son's tap water-filled... more ›

Yesterday's snow storm didn't add up to much as expected, but some of the melted snow on the ground froze overnight, causing a number of suburban school districts to alter their schedules today. Lucky bastards. In the end, only 1.3 inches of snow fell at Reagan National Airport, and with sunny days today and tomorrow with highs in 40s, most of that will likely disappear in short order. Better luck next year, snowpocalypse. Jail Time... more ›

Welcome back, Washington. You're probably still busy with Holiday merriment, but we're here working hard for you. Err... rather, we'll be posting today between yelling at football games and re-heating the Christmas roast beast. Also worth noting is the beginning of Kwanzaa and observance of Boxing Day. While Kwanzaa is mainly an American week of celebration, we have special envy of Boxing Day, a holiday virtually everywhere else in the English-speaking world. It's a whole... more ›