San Diego is finally getting a nonstop flight to Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Transportation approved the new route Tuesday from Alaska Airlines. The airline has yet to say when the flight will start but it had written in its application that it would be ready to launch a once-daily flight within 90 days of approval.
Alaska Airlines’ flight from San Diego International Airport will go to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, an airfield just outside of Washington, D.C.
Kimberly J. Becker, CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, said they are pleased to get the new route.
“This route will provide significant convenience for our defense, biotech and communications sectors that require efficient access to the nation’s capital,” she said in a statement. “We appreciate the DOT’s thoughtful analysis, and we are grateful to the many elected officials, industry sectors, and communities who spoke up in of this service.”
A nonstop to Reagan National is highly coveted because flights out of what is the closest airport to Washington, D.C., have been tightly regulated for years. As a smaller national airport, it is subject to the perimeter rule, which limits nonstop flights in and out of Reagan to 1,250 miles from Washington, unless the government grants an exception. According to the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority, there are 40 flights out of the airport’s more than 800 daily flights that fall under that exception.
The only previous time San Diego had a nonstop route to Reagan National was in 2012 when then US Airways was granted an exception for San Diego. That lasted a couple of years until American Airlines merged with US Airways and decided to transfer its Reagan National slot from San Diego to Los Angeles.
Alaska Airlines said in its application it would be using a 159-seat Boeing 737-800 or 737-8 Max aircraft for the route.
The airline applied for the route earlier this year, arguing San Diego was the single largest market in the U.S. without nonstop service to Reagan National. In October, it learned its route had been tentatively approved.
“We are pleased the DOT sees the value of Alaska providing direct service between San Diego and DCA, and we thank the many leaders, local businesses and organizations who ed our bid,” Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines, said in a statement. “This new route reflects our commitment to San Diego, home of the nation’s largest military community, and offers our guests a seamless travel option to our nation’s capital.”
Staff writer Lori Weisberg contributed to this report.
