If you’re scheduled to travel through Washington National Airport (DCA) next Saturday (in a little over a week), you may want to reconsider your plans…
Washington National Airport delays on June 14, 2025
On Saturday, June 14, 2025, there will be a big parade in Washington DC, to celebrate the Army’s 250th birthday, coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday. The celebration is scheduled to include flights by 50 Army helicopters above a military parade with tanks and troops. The Army’s Golden Knights will even parachute onto the Ellipse, near the White House, to present an American flag to Trump.
As you might expect, an event of this size will have implications for airline operations as well. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has briefed the airport on tentative plans, which reportedly call for significant disruptions between 6PM and 9:30PM.
The FAA forecasts that roughly 100 flights will be held at their departure airports, and could be delayed for an average of nearly three hours. A limited number of departures could be allowed after 8:45PM, if winds allow planes to leave the airport to the south. Currently, there are 65 arrivals and 35 departures scheduled between 6PM and 10PM on the evening of June 14.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has warned passengers scheduled to fly through the airport on the evening of June 14 to check the status of their flights directly with airlines. As of now, airlines continue to have flights scheduled for that evening.
Per a statement from the MWAA, “to accommodate aircraft flyovers along the parade route, followed by a fireworks display, the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to suspend airline operations at DCA — affecting scheduled flights.”
The White House has released a statement saying that “thousands of Americans will attend the Army’s 250th Birthday Parade, which will be a grand event that powerfully honors our military men and women, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” and that “reasonable considerations will be made to ensure their safety.”
At least this is on a Saturday evening, I guess?
It’s not unusual to see airports temporarily close for important events, but typically those closures are for minutes, and not hours. This is the longest closure I recall seeing at Washington National Airport in quite some time, with the exception of the American Eagle and Black Hawk helicopter crash we saw earlier this year.
If there’s any silver lining, at least this is taking place on a Saturday night, which is probably the lowest traffic period at the airport. The problem is that the exact plans remain fluid, or else you’d think that airlines would try to cancel some flights, to ease the inconvenience for passengers.
Then again, the challenge is that canceling flights to and from the airport would have a domino effect for other flights, given how complex aircraft scheduling is.
Bottom line
On Saturday, June 14, 2025, we’re going to see a big military parade and celebration in Washington. This will impact operations for airlines, as flights are expected to be held between 6PM and 9:30PM. Roughly 100 flights could be impacted, so if you’re scheduled to travel through the airport then, don’t be surprised if there are some delays and cancelations.
