Opinion | National Airport should serve its customers, not GOP whims

His paean to local autonomy is probably just more GOP bad faith that never ever actually means what it says but instead just foists its power wherever the current holders of that power see fit.

Oh, I also love being able to fly nonstop to San Francisco, my wife’s hometown, from National Airport, a convenience that Mr. Allen seems to oppose in his bad-faith advocacy.

“Convenience and affordability for me, not for thee” appears to be an emerging theme as opponents of the 1966 federal perimeter rule seek to block millions of Americans from affordable air travel to D.C.

Opponents are misconstruing the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s (MWAA) governance over Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Reagan National Airport (DCA) as local control. They’re misleading the public to believe that congressional proposals to change to perimeter rule are somehow federal intrusion.

The federal government owns both airports, and it was Congress that established the perimeter rule in the first place. It’s illogical to support maintaining the perimeter rule as Congress created it yet say that Congress shouldn’t interfere. If opponents truly wanted Congress to stay out of DCA’s operations, a more modern policy would let IAD and DCA operate like other airports in the country and give consumers more control over their travel.

It must also be made clear that the bipartisan Direct Capital Access Act (DCA Act) would add 28 new routes both inside and outside of the perimeter. Claims that flights to in-perimeter markets would be replaced by long-haul flights to the West Coast are categorically false. To the contrary, consumers will benefit from even more direct flights and more affordable airfare through increased supply and competition.

A new survey of Virginia voters shows 76 percent support efforts to lower ticket prices and modernize the perimeter rule. In Northern Virginia, voters oppose the current perimeter rule by a 2-to-1 margin. Investments at DCA, including its $1 billion expansion, have served the D.C. region well. The same voter survey shows that convenience and affordability are primary drivers for Virginians when it comes to air travel, and updating this outdated regulation would enhance both for travelers who prefer DCA.

To argue that modernizing the perimeter rule is nothing more than a perk for members of Congress is an affront to the American consumer, and denying affordable access is essentially geographical elitism. The DCA Act would enable people to travel the country without prohibitively high costs.

The writer is founder and chairman of the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce.