[JYO] NBAA Urges Reopening of Reagan National and TFRs to General Aviation

NBAA Urges Reopening of Reagan National and TFRs to General  Aviation
Longmuir Proposes New Security Program Equal to That of  Commercial Airlines


Washington, DC, March 16, 2004 –  National Business Aviation Association 
(NBAA) President and CEO Shelley A.  Longmuir today urged that Ronald Reagan 
Washington National Airport (DCA) and  temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) be 
reopened to security-qualified general  aviation aircraft.

In testimony before the House Aviation Subcommittee,  Longmuir unveiled a 
program including "10 rings of security" called Secure  Access, which would 
ensure the safe operation of general aviation aircraft  at the airport while 
again 
generating millions of dollars a year in economic  activity in the Washington 
region.

"Reopening Reagan Washington National  Airport to general aviation aircraft 
will benefit this region and the nation in  many ways. It will restore jobs 
lost; it will boost the economy and  significantly increase productivity; it 
will 
improve the prospects of the  general aviation industry, which was damaged by 
9/11 and remains uncompensated  for its loss; and maybe most importantly, it 
will be an important step in  proving that terrorists will not succeed in 
reducing the freedom of  Americans."

Besides the security provisions for DCA, the plan also would  simplify the 
cumbersome and often confusing system of temporary flight  restrictions (TFRs) 
or "no-fly" zones for general aviation aircraft. Since  September 11, 2001, the 
closure of DCA to general aviation and more than 2,800  TFRs nationwide have 
cost the national economy $.3 billion or over $43 million  a month, according 
to a recent NBAA study.

General aviation traffic at  Reagan National had accounted for $177 million 
in economic activity in the  Washington region before the restrictions were 
imposed after September 11, 2001.  In the year before the attacks, there were 
about 60,000 general aviation  takeoffs and landings at Reagan National by more 
than 2,000  companies.

Noting that Congress in December 2003 directed the Department  of Homeland 
Security to begin planning for the return of general aviation  aircraft to 
Reagan National, Longmuir asked that the Department review and  implement 
NBAA's 
Secure Access plan by August 1, 2004.

"The time  has come to strike a sophisticated balance between the unique 
demands for  general aviation security at DCA, and the pressing need to allow 
for 
the  economic activity generated by the operation of general aviation aircraft 
at the  airport," Longmuir said. "We believe Secure Access strikes this  
balance."

Among other things, the Secure Access program would  require a criminal 
background check for the flightcrew and the entire flight  department, which 
includes professional mechanics, schedulers and dispatchers,  and would require 
aircraft operators to develop and maintain a ground security  program. "We 
believe 
the security protocol we are proposing today is equal to or  more secure than 
that employed by the scheduled commercial carriers," Longmuir  said.

Review the text of the testimony on the NBAA web site at _www.nbaa.org_ 
(http://web.nbaa.org/public/news/photos/20040316/longmuir_dcaaccess_20040316.php)
 . 
  
NBAA represents the aviation interests of more than 7,600 companies that  own 
or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their  
business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn  
annual revenues approaching $5 trillion — a number that is about half the 
gross  
domestic product — and employ more than 19 million people worldwide. The NBAA 
 
Annual Meeting & Convention is the world's largest display of civil aviation  
products and services. 
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