Following over a year of efforts, Senator Reverend Warnock secured five additional roundtrip flights at DCA.

The provision was included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, which passed the Senate Thursday night

Additional flights at DCA will increase competition and help lower prices

Senator Reverend Warnock: “Increasing travel options into our nation’s capital helps ensure fliers throughout our country can more easily petition their elected representatives and play an active role in our democracy”

ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock Advocates for Additional DCA Slots on Bloomberg TV

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) celebrated his year-long effort to secure five additional roundtrip flights to anywhere in the county out of Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA), opening up greater access to the nation’s capital.

The Senator’s bipartisan provision was included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, which passed the Senate last night. The Senator’s bipartisan provision was written in close consultation with the FAA to ensure passenger and crew safety. The added flights will increase competition and lower the cost of traveling to and from the nation’s capital.  

“Increasing travel options into our nation’s capital helps ensure fliers throughout our country can more easily petition their elected representatives and play an active role in our democracy,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “I was proud to work in a bipartisan manner to author this legislation, craft a compromise provision with Senate leadership, and work closely with the Commerce committee Chair and Ranking Member to get this done.”

“These five additional roundtrip flights at DCA are a huge win for air travelers across the country who will benefit from greater access to the national capital region,” said Lisa Hanna, Delta Air Lines’ head of policy communications. “We appreciate the leadership of Sen. Warnock and for working with his House and Senate colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to secure more air travel choices for all. Delta looks forward to the DOT award process.”

Senator Warnock has led the DCA slots effort from the very beginning, including:

• Introducing the bipartisan DCA Act with Senator Lummis on June 13, 2023;
• Highlighting the importance of additional DCA slots in a member interest letter submitted to Chair Cantwell;
• Working closely with Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Cruz to craft the five-slot FAA compromise;
• Drafting the DCA slots amendment and successfully including it in the FAA reauthorization bill during the February 2024 Commerce Committee mark up
• Pressing Commerce committee leadership to advance the Senator’s slots provision in a March 18 letter outlining his FAA priorities for Georgia;
• Reminding House and Senate leadership of the importance of maintaining the bipartisan DCA slots compromise in the FAA reauthorization in a letter sent on April 12;
• Speaking frequently to Leader Schumer and other Members about the importance of including the bipartisan DCA slots compromise in the final FAA reauthorization bill; and
• Leading a bipartisan group of Senators in a Dear Colleague letter to the full Senate providing important context and refuting misleading safety concerns surrounding the bipartisan compromise.

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