Airspace restrictions planned for State of the Union address
The FAA has issued a temporary flight restriction (TFR) that will be in effect over the Washington, D.C., area on Feb. 5 for President Donald Trump’s rescheduled State of the Union address to Congress.
The TFR will be in effect from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) and the Washington Metropolitan Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) from the surface to 17,999 feet msl. All flight operations in TFR airspace are prohibited except military and law enforcement aircraft and operations specified in FDC notam 9/7755. The prohibition applies to manned and unmanned aircraft.
The 14 CFR Part 93.339 provisions that authorize VFR traffic pattern operations at SFRA airports and the provisions of FDC NOTAM 6/7215 that authorize ingress/egress procedures for Leesburg Airport will also be suspended.
The provisions of FDC NOTAM 8/3032 and 14 CFR Part 93, which authorize operations at the Maryland 3 airports, Washington Executive Airport/Hyde Field, Potomac Airfield, and College Park Airport, are suspended during the TFR.
Operations to be prohibited anywhere within the SFRA and FRZ will include model aircraft, unmanned aircraft, aerobatic maneuvers, glider operations, parachute operations, ultralights, lighter than air/balloon/moored balloon, agricultural/crop dusting/spraying, animal population control, banner towing, utility/pipeline patrols, aircraft/helicopters operating from a ship or private/corporate yacht, model rockets, or maintenance flights.
Flight training/practice approaches will be prohibited including “DOD, Law Enforcement and Air Ambulance,” the flight advisory said.
AOPA urges pilots to check notams frequently for changes to TFR effective times or airspace dimensions before conducting flight operations.
The State of the Union Address was originally scheduled for Jan. 29, but that date for the traditional event was scrapped as Congress and the president jockeyed over the federal government shutdown. On Jan. 25, an agreement for a three-week reopening of government agencies was reached, leading to the rescheduling of the State of the Union address for Feb. 5.
