Flight Restrictions in the Vicinity of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)

What it does

FAA is revising its regulations to implement certain flight restrictions in the airspace over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) permanently. These revisions are necessary to mitigate the potential for midair collisions resulting from insufficient separation between fixed-wing aircraft operating to or from DCA and helicopters or powered-lift operating in the vertical- lift flight mode near DCA. The revisions will also fully implement a National Transportation Safety Board safety recommendation. The flight restrictions will prohibit helicopters and powered-lift operating in the vertical-lift flight mode from operating in a designated area near DCA unless these aircraft are conducting an essential operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

14 CFR 93

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Federal Aviation Administration has published 489 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 518 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 2120-AM14 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

This interim final rule is effective January 23, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket FAA-2026-0199 on Regulations.gov
• Title 14 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register