CAA: GA News, "U.S. Regulators Slated To Reopen Three Airports Closed Sept.11"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

U.S. Regulators Slated To Reopen Three Airports Closed Sept.11 
By Aviation Now
 

U.S. regulators hope to reopen shortly three small airports just outside
Washington, D.C. that have been shut down since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey said Tuesday. 

Senior security officials signed off on a plan to allow air traffic in
and out of the Maryland-based College Park, Potomac Airfield (pictured)
and Washington Executive/Hyde Field, the last airports to stay closed in
the wake of Sept. 11, Garvey told the Aero Club of Washington. 

"Our goals is to get them open in the next couple of days," she said. 

That approval followed high-level negotiations, but FAA officials were
able to work out remaining issues last week, she said. 

"It was not easy," she said, adding that the closer the airports are to
Washington, the uneasier the Secret Service is about air traffic. 

Aircraft flying into the airports likely will have to follow strict new
security and operational procedures that include background checks and
verified flight plans according to prescribed routes, said the Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Association. 

AOPA expects the airports first will open only to aircraft already based
there, followed by transient traffic later. 

The new procedures are expected to be outlined under a special flight
rules area (SFRA) notice. 

"When this SFRA is issued, it will offer some relief for pilots and
business owners who have been so severely affected for four long
months," said Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President Phil
Boyer. "While not yet the ideal solution, this resumption of limited
operations is the first step toward rebuilding the general aviation
industry at these valuable airports."


   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

*****************************************