FAA to halt flights at Washington DC airport during Trump’s Army parade

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By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration plans to suspend flights at Washington’s Reagan National Airport during U.S. President Donald Trump’s June 14 Army anniversary parade, the agency said Thursday.

There will be aircraft flyovers and fireworks during the Army event, and during the peak of the celebration, the FAA said it would stop all arrivals and departures.

The airport, located less than two miles from the National Mall, is expected to shut down for several hours, officials said. The long-planned celebration for the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary will coincide with the president’s 79th birthday.

The FAA will also issue additional restrictions, expanding the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area.

The U.S. Army is bringing 6,500 troops into Washington, along with 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft for the celebration. The flyover will include Apache and Black Hawk helicopters along with Chinooks. Older aircraft like the World War Two-era B-25 bomber and P-51 Mustang will also take part.

The Washington area is the most heavily restricted airspace in the United States. No drones are permitted in Washington without special FAA approval.

The FAA has barred routine Army training and transport helicopter flights around the Pentagon after a May 1 close call.

Sixty-seven people were killed in January when a helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet collided, crashing into the Potomac River. It was the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub, Katharine Jackson; editing by Diane Craft)