SALISBURY, Md- Travelers who use Salisbury Regional Airport typically find themselves flying to destinations like Philadelphia or Charlotte. But there's a small chance that Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. might one day be listed on the departure and arrivals board. While the likelihood is small, airport officials are eager not to miss out on the potential opportunities.
To have a direct flight in or out of Reagan, airports must, with few exceptions, be within Reagan National's perimeter. That's a rougly 1300 mile circle around the airport.
But this could change as Congress considers a proposed perimeter expansion that would allow more direct flights from locations further away.
Salisbury Airport Manager Tony Rudy fears the changes would make it even less likely for Salisbury to have direct flights to or from Reagan.
A spokesperson for Piedmont Airlines told WBOC flights from SBY to DCA are not currently being discussed.
Wayne Strausburg, the Chairman of the Wicomico County Airport Commission, believes in keeping avenues open. He said, "It's never a bad idea to oppose something that might potentially present a problem but I think in the long run there's minimal chance that's going to happen."
Senator Ben Cardin, who joined lawmakers at Reagan last month to oppose the changes says , "And when you take this airport here and when you try to take it even further beyond its designed capacity, you're going to have challenges and you're going to have problems and its going to effect this region."
A spokesperson for Senator Cardin told WBOC that changes at Reagan would put "smaller airports at risk of losing direct connections to our nation's capital."
Maryland's junior U.S. Senator also weighed in telling WBOC “For decades, our regional airports have worked together to connect our nation’s capital to destinations around the country. Any proposal to increase air traffic at National would not only disrupt this careful balance and worsen travelers’ experience, it would also cause harmful ripple effects for other airports."
The FAA reauthorization bill passed in the House without an expansion of DCA's perimeter. The Senate has not yet passed the legislation.
Salisbury City Councilwoman, Meagan Outten, a member of the Wicomico Airport Commission, emphasized the importance of the airport to Salisbury. She said, "We absolutely want to keep our options open, we want to provide more opportunities for industry growth here on Delmarva and that's absolutely through the airport."
The Wicomico County Council scheduled a review of a letter opposing the proposed changes at Reagan National for Tuesday.
