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Reagan National Airport Reopens
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (News Agencies) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday announced the reopening of Reagan National Airport here, telling the country it was time to "get back to business" despite the September 11th attacks.
The airport, described by Bush as a national symbol, will reopen with limited service on Thursday under heavy security, the president said during a visit to the facility.
Reagan National and most other major U.S. airports were shut down following the attacks, in which hijackers crashed airliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near here.
"I say that America ought to be on alert but we need to get back to business and that is why I'm opening up Reagan Airport," Bush declared.
"Ronald Reagan airport is very important for our local economy but it's also a national symbol. There's really no greater symbol that America is back in business than the reopening of this airport."
Located on the outskirts of the city and reserved for domestic and Canadian flights, Reagan National is the last airport to have remained inactive following the September 11th attacks.
While none of the four airliners commandeered in the operation took off from Reagan National, the airport's proximity to the U.S. capital nonetheless poses an unmistakable security challenge under current circumstances.
Its northern flight corridor, which follows the course of the Potomac River, takes commercial planes to within 30 seconds of the CIA, the White House and Congress, and passes almost directly over the Pentagon.
An airliner controlled by hijackers veering off course at the last minute would allow little time for security forces to react, including those operating the surface-to-air missiles that protect the White House.
Bush on Tuesday pledged that "the toughest security measures possible" would be in effect at Reagan National, including the deployment of plainclothes armed marshals on every outgoing and incoming flight.
In addition, planes approaching from the north will be required to follow a stable, straight line course, making it easier to detect aircraft that stray from the prescribed path for whatever reason.
For the next three weeks, only 190 flights will be authorized to depart from Reagan National, compared with 792 for the same period under normal conditions.
In a second phase over the subsequent six weeks the number of flights will increase to 450.
The airport, which had served some 15 million travelers a year, is a critical factor in the local economy, pumping an estimated annual $2.4 billion into the Washington area.
Since its closure, the capital is reported to have lost 6,000 to 12,500 service jobs, notably in the tourism sector, in addition to 4,000 jobs at the airport itself and 6,000 at car rental agencies and shops, according to the AFL-CIO labor federation.
U.S. Airways, which is based at the airport, has meanwhile announced plans to reduce its workforce by 11,000.
Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams said the impact of the closure had reached "a crisis level, if not a disaster level in our city" and local officials had mounted a vigorous campaign to get Reagan National functioning again.
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