[14] Near the present site of the Pentagon, its single runway was crossed by a street; guards had to stop automobile traffic during takeoffs and landings.

Bordered on the east by U.S. Route 1, with its accompanying high-tension electrical wires, and obstructed by a high smokestack on one approach and a dump nearby, the field was inadequate.

When Congress lifted the prohibition in 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a recess appropriation of $15 million to build National Airport by reallocating funds from other purposes.

[16] The airport is located southwest of Washington, D.C., in the Crystal City section of Arlington County, Virginia, adjacent to National Landing.

[1] The public was entertained by displays of wartime equipment including a captured Japanese Zero war prize flown in with U.S. Navy colors.

[18] In 1945 Congress passed a law that established the airport was legally within Virginia, mainly for liquor sales taxation purposes, but under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 316 weekday departures: 95 Eastern (plus six per week to/from South America), 77 American, 61 Capital, 23 National, 17 TWA, 10 United, 10 Delta, 6 Allegheny, 6 Braniff, 5 Piedmont, 3 Northeast and 3 Northwest.

In 1970 the FAA lifted the ban at National of the stretched Boeing 727-200, which resulted in a lawsuit by Virginians for Dulles who argued that the airport's jet traffic was a nuisance.

As part of a slate of efforts to protect Dulles, including removing landing fees and mobile lounge user charges, the FAA proposed regulations as part of the EIS to limit traffic at National and maintain Dulles's role as the area's airport for long-haul destinations.

[38] The legislation[39] was drafted against the wishes of MWAA officials and political leaders in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.[40][41] Opponents of the renaming argued that a large federal office building had already been named for Reagan, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, and that the airport was already named for George Washington, the first United States president.

"[45] On January 31, 2025, the FAA announced they would restrict helicopter flights from the airport following a mid-air collision[46] two days prior.

[49][50] With the addition of more flights and limited space in the aging main terminal, the airport began an extensive renovation and expansion in the 1990s.

Hangar 11 on the northern end of the airport was converted into The USAir Interim Terminal, designed by Joseph C. Giuliani, FAIA.

[53] Members of Congress repeatedly have sought to extend the limit and permit exceptions in order to allow nonstop service from National Airport to their home states and districts.

[56] In the end the restriction was not lifted, but in 2000 the FAA was permitted to add 24 exemptions, which went to Alaska Airlines for flights to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.

[57] In 2023, members of Congress from Texas, including Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, along with Representatives Chip Roy and Greg Casar, proposed softening the perimeter rules in an FAA reauthorization bill.

[59] In 2024, a deal was reached to add five additional perimeter-exempt roundtrip slots to Reagan to the FAA authorization bill, which ultimately passed Congress and was signed by President Joe Biden.

[61] The U.S. Department of Transportation issued permits for new daily roundtrip destinations to Alaska Airlines for San Diego, which was previously served by US Airways; American Airlines for San Antonio, the second-largest market without an existing non-stop flight; Delta Air Lines for Seattle, as the second carrier on the route; Southwest for Las Vegas, as the second carrier on the route; and United Airlines for San Francisco, for an additional roundtrip to the city which it was already serving from Reagan.

Due to these restrictions, pilots approaching from the north are generally required to follow the path of the Potomac River and turn just before landing.

This would be superseded by a number of executive orders clarifying the boundaries of the airspace until 1966, when it was codified into Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, part 73.

Only aircraft supporting the United States Secret Service, Office of the President, or some government agencies are permitted within the prohibited airspace.

Increased security measures included: On October 18, 2005, National Airport was reopened to general aviation on a limited basis (48 operations per day) and under restrictions: passenger and crew manifests must be submitted to the Transportation Security Administration 24 hours in advance, and all planes must pass through one of roughly 70 "gateway airports"[75] where re-inspections of aircraft, passengers, and baggage take place.

The Capital One Landing lounge, a collaboration with chef José Andrés, opened in November 2024 in Terminal 2, Concourse D.[90] MWAA began construction of a new concourse north of Terminal 2 in February 2018 to accommodate 14 new regional jet gates with jetways, bringing the total number of gates at DCA to 60.

[95] A part of the airport is located on the former site of the 18th and 19th century Abingdon plantation, which was associated with the prominent Alexander, Custis, Stuart, and Hunter families.

[117] In 1998, MWAA opened a historical display around the restored remnants of two Abingdon buildings and placed artifacts collected from the site in an exhibit hall in Terminal A.

[118][120][121][122] On April 27, 1945, a Page Airways Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar on a charter flight[123] crashed into a deep ditch at the end of runway 33 after aborting a takeoff due to engine failure.

On December 12, 1949, Capital Airlines Flight 500, a Douglas DC-3, stalled and crashed into the Potomac River while on approach to Washington National.

[127] On the afternoon of January 13, 1982,[128] following a period of exceptionally cold weather and a morning of blizzard conditions, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed after waiting 49 minutes on a taxiway and taking off with ice and snow on the wings.

Less than 1 statute mile (1.6 km) from the end of the runway, the airplane struck the 14th Street Bridge complex, shearing the tops off vehicles stuck in traffic before plunging through the 1-inch-thick (25 mm) ice covering the Potomac River.

On 29 January 2025, American Eagle Flight 5342 carrying 64 people collided with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while approaching Reagan Airport, causing both aircraft to crash into the Potomac River.