CAA: GA News, "Ban of general aviation at Reagan grounds firm"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

Ban of general aviation at Reagan grounds firm
By Tom Ramstack
THE WASHINGTON (DC) TIMES 


     Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport might as well still be
closed from the standpoint of Signature Flight Support.

      "It was our flagship," said Mary Miller, Signature's vice
president of marketing. "It puts a pretty good hurt on us."

     Reagan Airport is the nation's only airport where private aircraft
classified as general aviation continue to be banned after the September
11 attacks.

     Signature Flight Support provides fuel and maintenance to
general-aviation aircraft, much of it used by government officials or
corporate bigwigs who like the convenience of private landings so close
to downtown Washington.

     After the September 11 attacks, the airport was gradually reopened
as security precautions were added to protect nearby government
buildings. 

     However, general aviation represented too much of a risk to reopen
it, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

     Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's nonvoting delegate
to Congress, said the ban has had a "horrific effect" on the local
economy.

     General aviation refers to any privately owned aircraft that seats
no more than 19 passengers. For the most part, that means single-engine
turboprops and business jets.

     The airplanes come and go almost at the whim of their owners, with
little government supervision of passengers or items carried on board.

     Terrorists could easily load one of the airplanes with explosives,
placing them within seconds of the White House, Capitol or Pentagon and
leaving virtually no chance of being brought down before a suicidal
plunge, the FAA says.

     The government's vigilance for security has meant a year of little
business at Signature Flight Support's Hangar 7, with no end in sight.
The company plans to keep the facility open in hopes of an FAA policy
change.

     "To my knowledge, we don't have any answer to the problem," said
Bill Peacock, the FAA's air traffic director.

     The Secret Service is steadfastly opposed to any planes other than
commercial airliners using Reagan Airport. Even chartered airplanes
represent a threat because the government has no control over how well
passengers are screened, according to the Secret Service.

     Miss Miller downplayed any risks from general aviation, saying
Signature acquired X-ray machines and magnetometers to screen baggage
and passengers for weapons and explosives.

     "We are totally puzzled by the fact that the government hasn't
issued any rules by which airplanes can come in, but they have for the
airlines," Miss Miller said. "We figure it's strictly a problem of
proximity with the White House and Capitol."

     In a normal year, the company handles about 60,000 landings and
takeoffs at Reagan Airport, earning revenue of about $18 million. Most
of the money comes from fuel sales. Signature sells about 6.5 million
gallons per year at the airport.

     Signature is an Orlando, Fla.-based company with outlets at 44
airports. It has about 2,000 employees and earns annual revenues of
nearly $400 million.

     Before the September 11 attacks, Signature had about 65 workers at
Reagan Airport. Now there are two. Most of their work involves services
to small aircraft used by government agencies, such as the FBI, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, NASA and the FAA.

     They handle about 20 to 25 flight operations a month. Before
September 11, 2001, they handled about 175 a day. The other workers have
either been transferred or laid off.

     "It's not going to drive us out of business, but it was a huge
component of our business," Miss Miller said about the flight service at
Reagan Airport.

     Meanwhile, Signature continues to pay rent on its Reagan Airport
facility.

     "At the current time, we're not entertaining any possibility of
closing down," said Steve Lee, Signature spokesman. Although he
acknowledges the company's Reagan Airport facility is losing money, Mr.
Lee said, "The rest of the company is very strong."

     "We're optimistic that, at some point in the future, it will
reopen," he said.

     The company also operates a facility at Washington Dulles
International Airport, where it serves about 150 flights daily.

     Other members of the general-aviation industry share Signature's
complaint.

     "They're probably the single most hard-hit organization out there,"
said Chris Dancy, spokesman for the Frederick, Md.-based Aircraft Owners
and Pilots Association.

     "The continued closure to general aviation of Reagan National
Airport is an excessive safety measure," Mr. Dancy said. "It's also
doing a tremendous amount of harm to the general-aviation-related
businesses located at Reagan National Airport."

     Among the businesses hurt are charter-aircraft companies and
airplane-fuel suppliers. Hotels and restaurants that serve the traveling
business fliers have also expressed concern.

     Local political officials have taken up the plea to reopen general
aviation. 

     Mrs. Norton is trying to get support from Washington-area
politicians for a letter to President Bush asking that he lift the
general-aviation ban. 

     "It seems to me the full weight of the regional delegation must be
brought to bear, and we must bring it to bear with the White House, not
the agencies," Mrs. Norton said.

     Until July, the Transportation Department said it would reopen
Reagan Airport to general aviation as soon as security arrangements were
adequate to guard against dangers of airplane thieves, hijackers or
terrorist passengers. But at a July 23 hearing before the House
Transportation subcommittee on aviation, Transportation Department
officials said "intelligence reports" indicated the threat was too high.

     "After talking about those intelligence reports, we decided we
would not be proceeding with the reopening of DCA," Transportation
Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said at the hearing on aviation security. DCA
is the airline-industry code for Reagan Airport.


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