Reagan plan will restrict private craft

Private aircraft will resume using Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport this year but will face a raft of stringent rules.

The federal government yesterday loosened the shackles on the airport and ended a moratorium on general aviation that had been in place since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Under the proposed restrictions, private planes would be allowed to fly only 48 flights a day into Reagan Airport from 12 airports across the country. Limiting arrivals to a handful of gateway airports will allow security officials to screen pilots, crew members, passengers and their baggage.

Armed guards will be aboard each flight, although they won’t be federal air marshals.

General aviation at Reagan Airport could resume by September.

The 48 flights allowed into Reagan Airport each day under the proposed rules would be far fewer than the number of arrivals prior to the terrorist attacks. More than 120 private aircraft used the airport daily before September 11, 2001.

Reagan Airport handles about 800 commercial flights each day.

Aviation industry lobbyists and members of Congress increased pressure on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this year to reopen the airport, in part because of concern over the economic impact of the lengthy moratorium.

Closing the airport to private planes cost an estimated $177 million in lost wages and lost economic activity through March 2004, according to the National Air Transportation Association, which represents airlines.

“This is going to be good for jobs,” said Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican.

The security plan plodded toward completion largely because of the number of agencies involved in drafting it — from the TSA to the Department of Homeland Security, including the Secret Service.

“This day has been a long time in coming,” said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, Virginia Republican.

But officials came up with security procedures that give people access to the District while ensuring safety, said David Stone, assistant secretary of homeland security for the TSA.

The proposed security measures for private aircraft exceed the measures that commercial flights must follow.

“This is a vigorous security plan,” Mr. Stone said.

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