AP Images/Cliff OwenFireworks, parades, flight delays? Passengers flying into and out of Washington, DC's, Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) may have an unusual interruption during Fourth of July celebrations in the nation's capital this year: Two planned ground stops.
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered a suspension of flight operations at the airport during two windows on July 4. The first will be between 6:15-7:45 p.m. ET, to free up airspace for military flyovers as part of President Donald Trump's Independence Day parade and celebrations in the capital.
The second ground stop, from 9:00-9:45 p.m. ET, is because of the city's fireworks display. The fireworks are normally launched from the National Mall, which doesn't cause any issues for Reagan airport. However, the launching site was moved to the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park in order to accommodate a White House celebration at the Lincoln Memorial during the parade, as Business Insider's Eliza Relman reported last week. That new site will cause the fireworks to interfere with the air space surrounding the airport.The two ground stops seem to be unprecedented for the Fourth of July; the planned flyovers by the Navy's Blue Angels, the Boeing VC-25 used as Air Force One, and other military aircraft have never happened before as part of DC's July 4 celebrations, and the fireworks display will be twice as long as any previous Fourth of July show, according to The Washington Post.
Reagan Airport has briefly suspended flight operations in the past for flyovers, but never on the July 4 holiday.
During the scheduled ground stop, takeoffs and landings are suspended, similarly to unscheduled ground stops that are imposed during severe weather.
In a statement provided to Business Insider, the FAA said "aeromedical and emergency flights will be authorized as necessary. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall and Dulles International Airports will not be affected."
According to data from FlightStats, there are about 30 scheduled departures and 85 scheduled arrivals during the windows.
While airlines warn passengers on flights scheduled to depart or arrive during those windows to expect possible delays, most of them expect only minimal overall impact - partly thanks to reduced overall traffic on the holiday, compared with a normal weekday.
American Airlines, for instance, averages 250 daily departures from Reagan on a summer weekday, but only has around 190 departures scheduled from the airport on July 4th - only 16 of which fall during the two windows, according to a spokesperson.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, which has about a dozen flights scheduled to arrive or depart within the two windows, said "the flights are scheduled to operate once allowed on July 4, and the Southwest Team will do our best to minimize any delays to customers' travel schedules while fully complying with the temporary flight restrictions at DCA."
Similarly, a spokesperson for Delta said "Delta expects to be minimally impacted on Thursday due to the two FAA-mandated ground stops at DCA."
The FAA suggests that travelers scheduled to fly into or out of the airport during those two windows to check with their airlines for flight updates.