The Federal Aviation Administration has modified the restricted airspace surrounding the District of Columbia to be smaller and more navigable for pilots, in changes that took effect Thursday.
The FAA shrunk the Air Defense Identification Zone to be a 30-mile, circular radius surrounding the Washington area. The zone used to be made up of three separate circles, stretching toward Baltimore and Virginia.
The FAA changed the restrictions, put in effect after the Sept. 11 attacks, tokeep closer ties on genuine security threats and avoid unnecessary hurdles for surrounding airports, according to a statement from the agency.
“Our aim is to balance vigilance with new measures that make it easier to track who belongs in this airspace and who does not,” FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey said in the statement.
Under the new zone, four major airports — Martin State Airport in Baltimore, the Essex Skypark, the Kentmore Skypark and the Bay Bridge Airport — as well as 29 private airports and helipads — no longer are in the restricted zone.
The restrictions have been a tough hurdle for small airports to handle, according to Jonathan Dean, spokesman for the Maryland Aviation Administration, which oversees the four airports. For example, at Martin State Airport, there were 129,452 operations in 2002 before the restrictions went into effect. Last fiscal year, there were 84,083.
“You can see the drop-off there,” Dean said, adding that recreational pilots and flight schools had been particularly affected by the restrictions.
Eleven public airports, such as Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, remain in the restricted zone, and three fall within the stricter 16-mile “no-fly zone” surrounding the nation’s capital.
“It’s a step forward,” said Kathleen Vasconcelos, spokeswoman for the Frederick-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, adding that the FAA received more than 20,000 complaints when it was considering making the restricted zone permanent. “We’re still, though, looking for an elimination or more of a reduction.”
