Airports
DCA Still Quiet After 10 Years
Industry is still working on stumbling blocks, such as the ASO requirement, 10 years after business aviation returned to DCA.
Four years after 9/11, on Oct. 18, 2005, business aviation officially returned to Washington National with the landing of a Hawker 1000 operated by New World Jet for Jet Aviation. (Photo: Paul Lowe)
Four years after 9/11, on Oct. 18, 2005, business aviation officially returned to Washington National with the landing of a Hawker 1000 operated by New World Jet for Jet Aviation. (Photo: Paul Lowe)

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is marking the 10th anniversary of the return of business aviation following the 9/11 attacks, but business aviation operations remain far below peak, and one of the chief barriers–the requirement for an armed security officer (ASO)–remains unresolved. DCA once stood as the flagship of Signature Flight Support, the sole fixed-base operation at the airport that in 2000 handled 44,592 general aviation flights, for an average of 122 a day.


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