Evening star., 1946-09-28
Airport CONGESTION

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cities drawing up their postwar plans
for airport development, in antici
patton of growing requirements of
the air age, it is not too soon for
Washington to take stock of its own
airport problems. And the National
Capital does have airport problems
no less deserving of attention than
those which led Philadelphia a
few days ago to adopt a $3O,0O0,000
airport-expansion program, or which
are giving headaches to New York
City, Boston and other cities.
While it you'd be an exaggeration
to say that the National Airport at
Gravelly Point, now only six years
old, is already obsolete, there can be
no doubt that it is suffering from
growing pains" that call for early
remedial measures and which even
tually may necessitate major un-
dertakingS of drastic import. At the
opening of the big airport across the
river before the war it would have
been difficult for observers to envi-
sion the congestion which now exists
there, especially when weather con-
ditionS impede air operations. An
average of $50 take-offs and land
ings day keeps the runways busy.
In good weather these planes can be
handled with little lost motion, but
when fog, smoke and clouds close in
it becomes necessary for the tower
to stack incoming airliners up over
the airport and keep them circling
while the planes are "sWeated in" at
the rate of about four planes an
hour. Occasionally the lack of facil-
tiles for handling more than one
plane at time causes pilots to seek
other landing places, perhaps skip
ping Washington altogether.
One of the immediate needs is
additional radio beams. There is
only one such radio path to the air.
port now, and it is used not only by
commercial planes but by Army and
Navy craft as WELL Efforts already
are being made by the Civil Aero
nautics Authority to obtain two more
beams, which should help materially
to reduce stacking" conditions.
Other urgent needs are additional
hangers and other buildings. Even
with these Improvements. some of
which have been authorized, the air
port still will have shortcomings.
With increased traffic by larger and
larger planes, the need for additional
runWays will become acute. The air.
port cannot be extended riverward
much, if any, farther, and the
Southern Railway tracks preclude
extension in that direction. Some
enlargement would be feasible to the
south by filing in low sections along
the shore and shallow parts of the
river.
One means of quick relief would
be the removal from the airport of
the Army's Air Transport Command
activities, as planned when the ATC
was placed there under a temporary
wartime arrangement. Insufficient
appropriations are given as the rea-
son for delaying this removal, which
would have placed the ATC at An
drewS Field and given the CAA con-
troll of the international air terminal
A further possibility for relief would
be for the Army to evacuate Boiling
Field and make that field available
for civilian craft, including cargo
planes which now add to the conges-
ton at National Airport. In fact,
WaShingtons airport problems are
so varied and complex that only a
long-range, overall study may be
expected to evolve satisfactory pro-
gram for their solution. The appro-
pirate authorities would do well to
begin formulation of such program
before conditions grow worse than
they are at present