DCA Slot (High Density) Rule:

The High Density Rule (or "Slot" rule) is a federal regulation established in 1969 (14 CFR §93.123) to manage congestion at five high density airports: Reagan National, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark and O'Hare. A slot is an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) reservation for an arrival or a departure.  A "slot pair" is equivalent to a round trip flight.

Unless otherwise authorized by FAA Air Traffic Control, Reagan National is limited to 60 IFR slots/operations (arrivals and departures) per hour for specified aircraft classes between 6 a.m. and midnight (12 a.m.):

• 37  Air Carriers
• 11  Commuter/Regional Carriers
• 12  General Aviation (non-airline aircraft)

Congress must propose and approve federal legislation to change the number of flights (slots) at a designated high density airport.  Over the strong opposition of the Airports Authority, Congress has added the following slot exemptions per day at Reagan National. 

• 2000:  24 slot exemptions
  
  • 12 beyond the perimeter
  • 12 inside the perimeter
• 2003:  22 slot exemptions
  
  • 12 beyond the perimeter
  • 10 inside the perimeter
• 2012:  8 slot exemptions
  
  • 8 beyond the perimeter
• 2024:  10 slot exemptions
  
  • 10 beyond the perimeter

DCA Perimeter Rule:

The Perimeter Rule is a federal regulation established in 1966 when jet aircraft began operating at Reagan National.  The initial Perimeter Rule limited non-stop service to/from Reagan National to 650 statute miles, with some exceptions for previously existing service.  By the mid-1980s, Congress had expanded Reagan National non-stop service to 1,250 statute miles (49 U.S. Code § 49109).  Ultimately, Reagan National serves primarily as a "short-haul" airport while Washington Dulles International Airport serves as the region's "long-haul" growth airport.

Congress must propose and approve federal legislation to allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue "beyond-perimeter" exemptions which allows an airline to operate non-stop service to cities outside the perimeter.  As a result of recent federal exemptions, non-stop service is now offered between Reagan National and the following cities:  Austin, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle and Portland, Ore.

Perimeter Rule Graphic

In November 2020, the GAO released report 21-176 on the DCA perimeter rule.

Learn more about efforts to protect the DCA perimeter rule.

In May 2023, the FAA produced a memo predicting an increase in delays at DCA of more than 25% if an additional 20 daily round-trip flights were flown.

As part of our informational campaign, the Airports Authority produced a graphic documenting our Runway 01/19 is the busiest in the country.