Response: Zone Likely Permanent, May Even Increase

You can add the town council of Leesburg, VA to the growing list of DC-area residents and business who maintain the massive air defense identification zone over them is hindering access to the area, at a high cost to area commerce.

Leesburg, VA airport commissioners and town council members alike expressed concern last week over the FAA's plan to make the D.C. ADIZ permanent, stating the tight restrictions in area air travel have already impacted traffic at the Leesburg Executive Airport. As has been extensively reported in Aero-News, the Washington DC ADIZ has come under fire by many businesses in the DC area, who state the tightly restricted access to the area has hampered local traffic and is causing many pilots to avoid the area outright.

Airport Commission Vice Chairman Dennis Boykin said the restriction is preventing small planes from using the airport, located directly under the 2,000 square-mile restriction centered over Dulles International. "Making this permanent would be undoable," said Boykin, who asked the council to pass a resolution opposing the plan to make the ADIZ a permanent part of the airspace over the DC area.

Their concerns may have little-to-no-impact on the FAA's plans, however. Councilman Robert Zoldos, who works for the agency, stated "from what I know, this is not going to go away."

Zoldos would not comment further on the zone, according to Leesburg Today, except that he also thought the zone perimeter might actually increase.

The council passed the resolution Tuesday against making the ADIZ permanent, and is also recommending the board of supervisors to adopt a similar resolution at its meeting scheduled for Nov. 1.

FMI: www.faa.gov