Reagan National Airport Arrivals (DCA)

The airport of DCA, or the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, handled almost nineteen million passengers in 2011, and just over eighteen million passengers in 2010. It is therefore regarded as one of the busiest airports in the United States of America, especially for local air traffic. It serves the nation’s capital city, Washington, DC, and is a focus city for the airline company US Airways. Passengers on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport arrival flights will find all the facilities they require within the terminal buildings, and have access to a selection of options for ground transportation as well. Reaching the city is easy by bus, taxi or train.

The DCA airport is located approximately 3 miles, or 4.8km to the south of central Washington, DC, just across the Potomac River. It is the nearest airport to the city centre, but is not the only airport that is available. There is also the Washington Dulles International Airport nearby that handles the city’s international air traffic. Both airports are run by the same authority. The Reagan National Airport is particularly nearby to the areas of Aurora Heights and Long Branch Creek, and further to the south is Alexandria. The airport is in the state of Virginia, although central Washington falls under the District of Columbia. Areas within easy driving distance of the airport include Richmond, Chesapeake Bay (a popular tourist area), Charlottesville, Strasburg, Frederick, Hagerstown and Baltimore, and little further to the northeast are Wilmington and the city of Philadelphia.

Passengers can arrive at Ronald Reagan National Airport from several other US cities, as well as from a couple of cities in Canada that have airports with US border preclearance facilities. These flights are then not treated as international, but as domestic, as their passengers will have completed the necessary customs and border control procedures before leaving the country. These airports include Halifax, Montreal-Trudeau, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto, and the airline companies that offer flights from these airports to DCA include Air Canada, Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz Air) and US Airways Express, operated by Air Wisconsin. Flights from Canada will arrive at either Terminal A or Terminal C.

Terminal A of the airport is the older of the passenger buildings. In fact, it is a building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as it has been in existence since 1941. It has been used all these years for passenger departures and arrivals, and was also expanded in 1955. The terminal now has nine gates, and is due for renovation, in order to restore its original architecture. The building is not planned to be replaced by a newer construction. The airport also had several other airline specific buildings in previous years, but they were replaced by today’s Terminal B and Terminal C, in 1997. These two terminals are modern, with a good selection of facilities, and thirty-five airline gates in total. They are also the location of the airport’s Metrorail station, that is found on the Concourse level.

Further popular airline companies at this airport include American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America. They fly in from US cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, Buffalo, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Detroit, Boston, New York City, Kansas City, Orlando, Denver, Cincinnati and many others. Keep in mind that most non-stop flights to this airport may only operate from destinations that are within 1,250 statute miles, in order to ensure that the majority of major air traffic flows into the larger Washington Dulles Airport. DCA is also very close to the city, and therefore must abide by various noise control regulations.

In the terminal buildings, arriving passengers will find automatic banking tellers, a full-service bank, foreign currency exchange options, several shops and restaurants and free Wi-Fi connections. In Terminal A there are also very elegant conference rooms for hire which are available individually for about forty people, or as one large room, for about eighty people. Public telephones, lost and found offices, luggage carts, information counters and various other services are available as well. All terminal buildings are accessible to disabled passengers, with elevators, pavement ramps, suitable restroom facilities and clear walkways. Guide-dogs are welcome, but all other pets should abide by the rules of the airport, which usually do not allow any animal to be out of a cage.

Passengers on arrival flights can choose to rent a car at the airport, and have their own, private transportation in the city and beyond. The car rental companies of the airport include Avis, Hertz, Budget, National, Alamo, Enterprise and Easycar, and they are located in Parking Garage A, on the first floor. This garage can easily be reached by free shuttle bus from any of the terminals. In a rented car is definitely a recommended way to travel the city of Washington, DC, as all roads are quite easily navigated. The city centre is even organised in a grid pattern with lettered and numbered roads.

Alternatively, arriving passengers could take the Metrorail services to the downtown area from Terminals B/C, which is the cheapest form of ground transport available, or they could organise a private shuttle service with companies such as SuperShuttle or Supreme Airport Shuttle. Taxis are available as well, from just outside of the arrival areas of the terminal buildings.

Live Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport arrival flights can be viewed online, from various websites, or for more information, the airport can be contacted at the telephone number: (703) 417-8000.