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Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which oversees the Department of Transportation (DOT) and drafted the FAA Reauthorization Act language that created new slots at Washington’s National Airport, has made her recommendations clear. She not only authored the law but also provided explicit guidance on who should receive these new slots.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg filed in the regulatory docket, Senator Cantwell outlined her preferences for airlines to be granted slots allowing flights beyond 1,250 miles from National Airport. Section 502 of the act was designed to provide direct access from unserved locations in the western and southwestern United States such as San Antonio and San Diego while increasing competition on existing routes like Las Vegas and Seattle.
The primary recipients of these beyond-perimeter slot pairs are American Airlines for San Antonio and Alaska Airlines for San Diego. Senator Cantwell emphasized that these selections align with Congressional intent. "San Antonio is the flight that the committee’s ranking member, Ted Cruz (R-TX), wanted in championing these slots," she noted. Additionally, she highlighted that "San Diego isn’t just a market without current service from the airport; it’s the proposal of her home state airline Alaska."
