Living near an airport often means having to contend with some disturbance. But for one household near Ronald Reagan Washington Airport (DCA) the noise seemed to be too much, prompting them to issue 6,852 noise complaints in a single year.
According to a statistic shared by think tank Institute for Progress (IFP) in February 2024, 8,760 noise complaints were submitted to DCA Airport in 2015, with two individuals residing in one household accounting for 6,852, or 78% of the complaints.
A report by automobile media outlet Jalopnik said that from 2014 to 2015, nine of the busiest airports in the US – DCA, Denver International Airport (DEN), Dulles International Airport (IAD), Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) , Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Portland International Airport (PDX), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – all received thousands of noise complaints. However, the bulk of the complaints often came from a small group of people.
Record-breaking 2023
Meanwhile, the airport announced in February 2024 that it served a record breaking 25.4 million passengers in 2023, which is 25.4 million passengers served, which is 6.2% more than the previous record set in 2022.
In 2023, United States lawmakers proposed more long-haul flights to be given to DCA Airport, as opposed to IAD airport. According to media outlet Politico, in the 1960s the much-larger IAD Airport was tasked to handle domestic and international flights, while DCA handled short and medium hops.
However, the FAA opposed the idea, stating in a memo that adding more flights to DCA Airport would strain operations, as it already was among the top airports in the US with most delayed flights.