The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has tightened the rules in the airspace surrounding Washington National (DCA) following the crash between a CRJ700 operated by PSA Airlines and a United States Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on January 29, 2025.

The new rules will, for example, trigger runway closures at the airport whenever President Donald Trump flies to and from the White House aboard his helicopter, The Washington Post reported citing people aware of the restrictions.

The new requirements, the daily reported, have already forced dozens of flights bound for Washington National to circle in holding patterns or divert to nearby airports such as Washington Dulles, Baltimore International, and Richmond International, VA. The ch-aviation schedules module shows American Airlines is the main operator by capacity at DCA with 54%, while Southwest Airlines holds 15.3% and Delta Air Lines has 13.4%. Other carriers serving the airport include United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, and Frontier Airlines.

In a statement to ch-aviation, the FAA said that immediately following the crash at Washington National, it restricted helicopter traffic around the airport, including suspending visual separation rules between helicopters and aeroplanes. Instead, controllers and pilots must now follow rules for radar separation, requiring 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) of lateral distance between aircraft or 500 feet (152.4 metres) of altitude separation.

“For years, non-critical helicopter traffic congested the DCA airspace, which created challenges for controllers and pilots. The new policy provides exceptions for lifesaving medical support, active law enforcement, active air defence, or presidential helicopter missions. We will review the current policy once [the National Transportation Safety Board] completes its preliminary investigation,” the FAA added.

Washington National is close to downtown Washington and the White House, forcing a shutdown traffic when Marine One and helicopters supporting the president’s travel are in the air, The Washington Post reported.

Additionally, in recent weeks the weather has caused delays at the airport, forcing the FAA to limit the volume allowed per hour, reducing the maximum hourly arrival rate from 32 planes to 28.

On January 29, a Bombardier Aerospace CRJ700, N709PS (msn 10165), operated by PSA Airlines on behalf of American Airlines’ American Eagle and a Sikorsky Aircraft UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter collided in mid-air over the Potomac River. The collision occurred about half a mile (800 metres) short of Washington National's runway 33. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed, in the first major US commercial passenger flight crash since 2009.

ch-aviation has reached out to American Airlines for comment.