Fort Liberty, Fayetteville fliers should get a straight shot to D.C. but old rule an obstacle

Fayetteville is the largest neighbor to one of the largest U.S. military installations in the world. Fort Liberty, its workforce, and all the businesses in our community who support the U.S. military mission are vital to national security.

But the only way anyone in our region can fly direct to Washington, DC is if the Golden Knights Parachute Team is jumping into Washington Nationals Stadium. If you want a direct flight but don’t want to jump out of airplane or have a 90-minute commute after your airplane lands, your only option is to drive to Raleigh, Charlotte or Wilmington for a direct flight into Reagan National Airport (DCA) because here are no direct options from flights from Fayetteville Regional Airport.

The federal government presently blocks DCA from adding additional flights due to the outdated Perimeter Rule which restricts the number of direct flights into DCA. DCA is the only airport in the country restricted by the Perimeter Rule. Because the Federal government follows an outdated mandate, it restricts price competition, resulting in North Carolinians having to pay more for airfare into DCA.

If you’ve driven to Raleigh (or Charlotte or Wilmington) and flown directly into DCA in recent years, you might have noticed something new at the airport, an entirely brand-new terminal built with federal taxpayer dollars. Airports typically, and logically, build new terminals when they want the additional infrastructure necessary to take on additional flights.

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But, due to the outdated Perimeter Rule, the Federal government has spent taxpayer dollars to build a new terminal at DCA capable of handling new flights, but Federal policy is preventing DCA from taking new flights.

New legislation, the Direct Capital Access Act, would authorize new flights into DCA. This legislation does not take away any existing flight options, it creates new options. It also does not guarantee Fayetteville Regional Airport would get a direct flight, but chances for more direct flight options into DCA will only happen, if Congress authorizes more flight options.

I thank Congressmen Richard Hudson, Dan Bishop and David Rouzer for supporting this legislation in the U.S. House and strongly urge Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd to support it in the US Senate.

Authorizing additional flights at DCA will make travel from our state to our nation’s capital more affordable and more efficient overall. As North Carolina continues to grow in prominence, our business leaders require stronger access to federal policymakers and regulators. And considering the strong presence of federal military contractors in our area, our local economies would benefit through heightened business development opportunities.

Kathy Keefe Jensen is a member of the Fayetteville City Council.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fly directly from Fayetteville and Fort Liberty to D.C.? It could happen