No Standing Rule at Reagan National
By JONATHAN D. SALANT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Passengers flying into Reagan National Airport cannot stand or leave their seats during the last 30 minutes of the flight, airline officials said Monday. Pilots have been told not to land if a passenger refuses to sit.
Industry and union sources, discussing the rule on grounds of anonymity, said the restriction is part of enhanced security measures for flights into the vicinity of the nation's capital.
Spokesmen for both US Airways and Delta Air Lines, which run the frequently flown shuttles between Reagan National and New York's LaGuardia and Boston's Logan airports, said the Federal Aviation Administration imposed the no-standing rule.
FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto would only say: "We strongly encourage all passengers to listen and obey the flight crews."
Several other security requirements unique to National were imposed when the airport reopened because of its proximity to the Pentagon, White House and other government buildings.
Passengers are told of the no-standing rule before the plane takes off.
Passengers said Monday that attendants reminded them as the plane neared the 30-minute zone that this was their last chance to use the restroom before the plane landed.
"We are a country of complainers, but nobody was complaining, even a little bit," said Roxanna Cardwell, a passenger aboard an American Airlines flight from Boston.
In reopening National, the FAA also required all passengers to be checked twice for identification and to board planes through specially secured gates. It also told pilots to fly direct routes in and out of the airport rather than follow the Potomac River and expanded police and canine patrols at the airport.
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Associated Press Writer Daniel Freedman contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Federal Aviation Administration: http://www.faa.gov
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