(Editor’s note: Councilwoman Jensen wrote this letter to U.S. Senate and House representatives of the Fayetteville area as well as congressional committee leaders including Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Missouri Rep. Sam Graves and Washington Rep. Rick Larsen.)
Fayetteville is the largest neighbor to the largest military installation in the world, Fort Liberty. Fort Liberty has more generals than any other location in the country outside Washington, D.C. The base and its workforce are vital to national security.
However, there are currently no flights from Fayetteville to Washington’s Reagan National Airport for our military personnel or civilian population to board.
You’d think it would be easy to simply add another flight to D.C. from Fayetteville, but Reagan National is overseen by Congress, which caps the number of daily flights. This federal intervention takes place at Reagan National and nowhere else.
Fortunately, legislation known as the Direct Capital Access Act — House Bill 3185 and Senate Bill 1933 — would authorize new flight routes to D.C. If passed, Fayetteville would be a prime contender for one of the resulting new flights.
People from all over the country are flocking to our region for good-paying jobs in military operations and a host of other sectors. Companies are moving operations here thanks to a friendly business climate and educated workforce.
Passage of the Direct Capital Access Act would give Fayetteville and the Sandhills region the opportunity to pursue the direct connectivity to Washington we need to continue progress.
Just to put a finer point on this: You could go on Priceline.com right now and buy a direct flight from Reagan National to Martha’s Vineyard, but not from Reagan National to Fayetteville. While Fayetteville may not be an exclusive vacation destination for the rich and famous, our fast-growing community is of greater national consequence than most. The military leadership who serve here need and deserve stronger, more affordable air transportation access to Washington, where our national security policy decisions are made.
Of course, authorizing additional flights at Reagan National will make travel from our state to our nation’s capital more affordable and more efficient overall. As North Carolina continues to grow in prominence, our business leaders require stronger access to federal policymakers and regulators. And considering the strong presence of federal military contractors in our area, our local economies would benefit through heightened business development opportunities.
Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Ted Budd, Congressman Richard Hudson, and Congressman David Rouzer should all review and offer their support for the Senate and House bills to open up Reagan National Airport and strengthen our access Washington, D.C.
