The President still plans to deliver remarks at his 4th of July event tonight, despite an announcement there would be a delay in the program
Nearly 100 flights are scheduled to arrive or depart from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport today during the time the airport’s runways are scheduled to be closed due to Independence Day festivities in the nation’s capital, a CNN review of flight records found.
The airport’s website lists 63 arrivals and 33 departures during the two windows when the FAA has ordered airport operations suspended due to a military plane flyover and extended fireworks show.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitical Washington Airports Authority declined to provide specifics on how many flights would be impacted, but said the airport does “anticipate some fights at Reagan National to be affected during the late afternoon and evening on the fourth.”
Here’s a breakdown of the scheduled flights per airline:
- American Airlines: It uses Washington as a hub and has the most flight activity at the airport during that time, with 16 departures, according to an airline spokesperson, and 51 arrivals, according to the airport’s website. An airline spokesperson said the airline “runs a reduced schedule” on the Fourth of July due to less “customer demand,” and is operating about 40 fewer departures from airport that day.
- Southwest: Nine flights
- Delta: Five flights
- JetBlue and United: Both airlines each have four flights scheduled.
One thing to note: It is unclear how the flight delays will impact travelers. A Southwest spokesperson said the airline “will do our best to minimize any delays to customers’ travel schedules” and a United spokesperson said the airline would issue a travel waiver to make re-booking easier for its passengers.
