Why is airspace closed over DC?


Why is airspace closed over DC? Prohibited Airspace (P-56A and P-56B): The Washington, D.C. airspace is unique within the FAA's National Airspace System due to prohibited airspace located 1.5 miles north of Reagan National. The present day prohibited airspace evolved from Presidential Executive Orders dating back to the 1930's.


Who owns the airspace over the US?

Federal law provides that the United States government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States; the FAA makes the plans and policy for the use of the navigable airspace; and any citizen has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace. 49 U.S. Code § 40103.


Where does US airspace end?

Class A airspace is generally the airspace from 18,000 feet (~3.4 miles, 5.5 km) mean sea level (MSL) up to and including flight level (FL) 600 (~11.4 miles, 18.3 km), including the airspace overlying the waters within 12 nautical miles (NM) (~13.8 miles, 22.2 km) of the coast of the 48 contiguous states and Alaska.


Is there any uncontrolled airspace in the US?

Class G airspace is the only form of uncontrolled airspace in the United States. It isn't charted, and it exists wherever Class A, B, C, D or E doesn't. But to truly understand Class G airspace, it helps to understand Class E airspace first.


Why don t planes fly over Antarctica?

Thanks to the low visibility and undeveloped infrastructure, flying over Antarctica is extremely difficult. Specifically, because of the strong magnetic fields that surround the polar regions, navigating there, no matter how well-equipped the airplane is in terms of instrumentation, can be particularly challenging.