Reagan Washington National Airport Security Command Center Review

Clean. Security fairly easy to navigate. Terminal A is 9000 miles from the Airport Metro Station. I saw no signs directing me to a shuttle - so hoofed it down and back on my trip to and from DC. Terminal A has only 1 restaurant you can sit down in. Then there is a hallway-of-amenities you can buy (rather than several stores) and some counter restaurants. Seating very limited in the terminal. The terminal is noisy (poor acoustics) - lots of ambient noise and it's difficult to hear announcements. If you are over-early for your flight - and you are departing from Terminal A - it's best to amuse yourself in the main part of the terminal before shuffling through security and hanging out near the gate.

Ever since Southwest jumped on the bandwagon and started operating out of Ronald Reagan I have become even more impressed with this airport. It is very conveniently located that even if I'm not driving I can almost easily and quickly find transportation either arriving or departing. It is not a huge airport but my needs aren't many and this satisfies me.

I am on the TSA pre-approved list (who authorized that??? :))) and I am checked in and thru security in under 30 minutes, sometimes sooner. I won't knock any stars for the airline agents' sometimes stinky attitudes---it's either hit or miss. Sometimes you will meet a friendly agent and at other times you'll meet a grinch. Hahaha. And on that note those fake airline security personnel that are patrolling the outside are really irritating at times. I was dropping my BFF's mom off curbside and I swear as soon as I closed the trunk one was lurking, waiting on me to move my vehicle. Whoa, whoa, slow down killa, just give me a second to get inside my car! Geez! What characters!

All in all, it's an airport, nothing new to see. Of all my travels at this place I've had about 85% on time departures and arrivals, sans the weather and other uncontrollable factors. Very decent airport.

Very difficult to locate washrooms. Looked for it like hours. I wish there were good public signs to help aide. The halls are good nice shops within the Airport. Security is good. The customer service is great and what I loved most is there waiting area. It is one of the best I have ever been to. Nice Airport service.

The Airport is beautiful, but I recommend not taking PHOTOS, or if you do, you should be careful to know where to take them , there are eyes on each person; I was approached by a giant policeman who was furious, they took me to a secluded place, they emptied my suitcases, they took my cell phone and forced me to delete all the photos , the place where I was taking them was the place where the suitcases, I would never have imagined that I couldn't do it ; Perhaps because I was very calm, they returned my suitcase and I was able to travel, but very sad and disappointed, sometimes it is difficult to understand and understand the borders, but I also understand that the security issue is very delicate, they are hazards of the trade.
But it is a beautiful airport, many warehouses, large food courts, friendly people many times and rude and despotic people in others

Worst airport I have ever been in .. very confusing how the terminals are set up & every single employee I encountered was very rude. I had one employee trying to rush me to get on this shuttle van to take me a different terminal in which case I was traveling just me & my baby & the lady grabbed my stroller and dragged it across the cement the intire way to the shuttle van I was yelling for her to please stop dragging it on the ground & at that point the wheel broke and another employee started yelling at her and they began to litterly fight in front me ... at that point I just picked up the stroller with my baby on my hip and got the bus. What a nightmare this airport is

Worst airport I've been to. No matter what airline, there never seems to be enough employees to keep up with all of the customers. Check in can take up to an hour, and that doesn't count the time you have to spend in the security checkpoint to get to your gate.

The layout in the check in area makes no sense, and lacks any organization at all, creating chaos by the check in counters/kiosks. On top of that, only some of the gate areas are connected past security, so if you stand in the wrong security line, or your gate changes to a different area, you might have to go outside security and to another part of the terminal.

And to put the icing on the cake, the TSA agents are regularly rude, with an apathetic attitude towards work, and in no hurry to take care of anyone. I know they are supposed to "be there for our safety", but that doesn't mean they should treat people rudely, and not do their jobs correctly.

If I didn't have to use this airport for work, I would never fly through here.

Good airport. Security lines were not very long and the TSA agents were nice and helpful. Decent restaurant selection inside the terminal, simple and straightforward signage. Amazing views of the National Mall right after takeoff. Definitely want to return here someday.

Always easy getting in and through security. Can be dicey getting car or taxi out.

Good airport , everything went good. The dunkin donuts was a little dirty because they used the same mixer for every drink and they had it in the same dirty cup.

Small airport with a decent selection of restaurants. Rarely are there flight delays (at least on my flights) and often times you get to see politicians flying in/out of DC. For a regular traveler this has become a bit of a game.

Thanks to the shuttle bus and not being able to freely move for terminal to terminal, I have now missed a flight and will be stuck here for at least 9 hours

Sat as near to gate 43 as possible for nearly 1 hour. Never could tell which gate was boarding. Finally heard group 9 and rushed over and was told i had missed the flight. I am certain my name was never called. Now I must wait until 9 pm on STANDBY, unless I pay $75.00. This is airline robbery.

Can anything be done to correct this? Over talking on the intercom? Perhaps have gate agents USE the microphone?

I was hoping to use this itinerary monthly for 2 years, but just too rigid??? for my comfort.

When you aren't in a hurry, have plenty of hours to burn waiting on a delayed or broken aircraft, Ronald Reagan Washington Airport is the place for you. But seriously, just fly out of Dulles. You are much more likely to depart and arrive on time.

Access to the DC metro is great. The parking is more than the other airports though.

Shuttle was parked at the rental car sign but he refused to take us to the car rentals but drove around the economy parking lot instead. Very unpleasant about it too.

To many Democrats the place reeks of decaying BS. To many unkind self serving America's.

A nice airport. Access to the place is widespread, fast, and smooth. If crashing is a major fright to you, then try not to land here, as at first it seems like you're descending into the Potomac River. Time at the gates is long, and ATC tower can' t see the Alaska Airlines portion of the airport very well. Soap from the bathroom smells like shirley temple cherries. Amenities are nice. Nice airport, for DC.

Horrible experience. Luggage took forever, then you have to walk close to a mile to the rental car and then once again wait. I will fly into other DC airport next time.

Very nice airport. Pretty cool to see the monuments flying from the airport. We flew right over the Pentagon. Also, didn't seem overly busy.

Easy to get dropped off and picked up at. I would suggest non peak times, before 7am and after 2pm

Beautiful airport to fly out of. Staff was helpful and friendly. The TSA officer found conditioner in my 9 year olds carry on that we forgot was in there. He explained to her why he has to inspect it and asked us to check the bag unless we want to go through this again at our next stop. The bag was checked complimentary.
AA customer service also arranged for my family to sit together, as originally, we were sitting separated from our 9 year old on a 5 hour flight. They were super helpful.
Great places in the AA terminal to grab a quick bite with a gorgeous view of DC.
Charging outlets only work with USB outlet.
The only downfall to this airport was there were dogs everywhere which means poop. I kept seeing stepped in or run over dog poop with luggage wheal track marks on the tile walk ways. If dogs are allowed in the airports, they should probably be crated to avoid accidents. Most dogs were in kennels, or they were service dogs which meant they will not have an accident in public because of training. But others were on retractable leashes and owners were not paying attention to their actions.
I d give this 5 stars, but the poop was pretty disgusting.

Not a lot of food and dining selection available. No direct transfer between the terminals

Great airport! It has a variety of shops to do some last-minute shopping

With ample transportation options taking you directly to DCA, this airport is among the best. The design of this facility is outstanding. The only downside is that you cannot move between other gate locations once you go to your specific area within the venue.

Cool airport if you live in DC and aren't flying internationally.

Metro arrives at the airport and it is highly convenient because it can be reached in the center of Washington D.C in 30 minutes. It is an image like Fukuoka Airport in Japan. Because the airport is small and the runway is short, there is no direct flight from Japan, but I think that there is sometimes a departure arrival here by connecting flight.

Nice flight, everyone friendly and helpful, professional. Enjoyed it!

The National Airport is located at the heart of DC. Just a few minutes from every hotel u can be lodging in. With Uber everywhere in town u can never be late for a flight. Security is pretty tight. Isnt what we all love. Fly at Reagan and let me know your experience. Stay blessed.

Free wifi ,plenty of checkpoints,walking distance from rental cars

Love the upgrade Running late, no problem every gate was easy to fine ..
But I think the TSA Reps. We're in training that took a little time due to TSA hiccups...

Super convenient airport in DC. I've never had any issues and loving out with Southwest.

By far worst airport ever. Staff is very rude and unhelpful. Tried to get Starbucks and it took 3 people to take my order. The food quality sucks. I recommend flying out of Dulles if possible.

Worst airport ever. I had to throw bunch of my cosmetics such as suncreen, lotions and etc which had never been asked me to take them off during travel all over the united states. The security check man gave me 2 choices about going back to check-in zone and putting them on my luggage, which was already checked in, or just throwing them up. I said I would go back for putting them in my luggage bag but I felt weird because it doesn't make sense to pull my bag off again among tons of bags. Of course, it was impossible. And I had to wait for the line for checking my bags and body again. I still don't know why the guy pretends knowing well about airline system. It's kind of understandable because the cosmetics were small, but they were liquids anyway. The worst thing is waiting lounge after checking in. I've never seen this kind of airport in my life. So small, so crowded, and not organized. People are just standing because of lack of sofa and chairs, even I had to wander for finding place for rest. Finally I got a chair, but it has dust, small crumbs.... Etc. Also, wifi doesn't work even though I've tried dozens of times... Definitely NOT recommended.

Except for the inconveniences of closed restaurants and shops during the COVID-19, I love traveling through DCA.

THANK YOU to all Regan National Airport employees for their honesty and professionalism in helping me retrieve my lost bag. I ve always enjoyed flying in and out of DCA, and I now have even a deeper appreciation for it!!!

Got the TSA pre-check, which obviously made my experience much better. But, the facility is clean and is easy to find your way around in it.

One of the worst airports I've even flown through. When I was there in order to go between terminals you had to leave the secure area and go through tsa again. Bathrooms were hard to find and the food was more expensive than other airports. It did have decent views of the capital building though, but that's about all this airport has going for them.

Great airport! Clean, up to date, efficient and not at all busy like I had expected. It was a breeze from bag check to security to boarding.

A small but incredibly convenient option for traveling to DC. I prefer this over Dulles any day. There are limited food options, unfortunately, but there is a lot of construction so perhaps there is an expansion underway? Soon Delta will have nonstop flights from Seattle here.

I recently traveled to Ronald Reagan Airport. The area where Southwest airlines is located is very small and dated with not very many food options. I found the staff to be very nice and polite. Going through security was a breeze no long lines or much of a hassle! All in all it served its purpose.

Love flying out of dca, usually through security in 10 minutes!

Very nice airport. Plenty of transportation services.

Nothing fancy. Feels small compared to most other airports. Clean and efficient. Best feature, though, is its convenience for getting into town. What no one is talking about yet is the fact that you can RIDE A BIKE from (very near) DCA right into downtown DC. The airport is directly connected to a major greenway/multi-use path that runs right into downtown DC. It's a little tricky to find - just follow signs to the parking deck, make your way to the north end of the parking deck and head down to the ground level. At the back of the deck you will find a set of steps that goes right up to the Mt. Vernon Trail. Another option is to take the metro from DCA to Crystal City.

Don't bother trying to bring your own bike - Capital BikeShare has bikes stationed at several docking stations in Crystal City, just 3/4 mile from the airport. Swipe your credit card, get your unlock code, and away you go. Drop the bike off at any of the numerous docking stations throughout DC, including the Air & Space Museum, Kennedy Center, George Washington University, etc.

From Crystal City to downtown is about 5-6 miles, or about 30 minutes riding time. DC is pretty flat, so biking around it is easy.I did this for work recently and just dressed in my usual business attire (even a tie). I like to wear a helmet, so I brought my own in my carry-on bag. Obviously if you have a large carry-on or any checked baggage, biking into town won't work for you.

I'm not affiliated in any way with Capital BikeShare. I'm just a guy who likes to see bikes used as transportation.

If you have a transfer at this airport, make sure you leave yourself enough time as it can take awhile to get on the shuttle bus to transfer between terminals.

This airport is quite possibly the easiest airport to move in and out of anywhere in the world. The metro stops right at DCA and getting a checked bag and carry on on and off the train is very easy. Check in can be done in minutes and most of the gates are very easy to access. The design of the terminal is very aesthetically pleasing, and the views out the windows are fantastic. The restrooms have been clean and tidy every time I have needed to use them, and I really love the fact that there is a water bottle filler just outside restrooms. Regrettably, it is only a domestic airport, which means overseas travel requires an extra leg, or driving out to Dulles. There is terminal parking if you are dropping off or picking someone up. It is garage parking that costs $6/hr.

Access to the metro is worth the price of the ticket.

I was a little apprehensive after our last flight from there about the TSA. But this time, they couldn't have been more friendly and helpful. I was so pleased and we got through very quickly.

CLT - DCA leaves early, lands on time at 830AM(!) and DCA is already a complete clusterF. No bad weather, no nat'l emergencies just piss-poor mismanagement and incompetence.

Very nice airport with ornate ceiling. I love that the DC Metro train stop can be accessed from a covered walkway inside the airport. Jazz music was playing and it many shops and stores throughout.

A small airport with a tiny duty free shop. Very convenient though!

Terminal A is a zoo. No lounges, nowhere to sit, no where to eat on a table. Flights are frequently delayed due to air traffic congestion. Trying to get to the subway from Terminal A? Get ready to walk forever.

Terminal B however is a dream. Brooks Brothers, Chick Fil A, Tumi, very excellent selection of stores. The mini museum is wonderful. They have decent lounges there, holy cow.

Suggestion to Air Canada-move terminals!!

I love flying in and out of here because it is super easy and so close to the city and surrounding areas. Some gates have better food than others and they are starting to get some fresher and healthier options at the stands. Always love when I end up at the Five Guys gate.

The worst Airport by far!
I am a first time flyer and I missed my flight back in Pittsburgh and they sent me here to board another plane to Jacksonville. Not a single staff member was friendly and when I tried to talk to a security guard for help, she told me to keep walking! I was lost and afraid.. I eventually found my flight and I've been on layover for over 3 hours waiting. When my plane arrived, they said it was full and told me to "go away" (I'm on standby). Not a single flight went back home that night so I had to get a hotel and leave next morning. When I got to the airport the next morning for my flight, they moved the time and gate again.. I am still sitting and waiting for an open seat for my flight to arrive..

This Airport is so overhyped. It honestly kinda sucks. The Southwest terminal is HORRIBLE. The employees are okay but so unprofessional. The Checkout/ System is so screwed up. It took me 20 mins to pay for a cheeseburger before I didn t have cash and the debit card doesn t work so I had to wait 20 mins listening to this lady who I can t even understand and they didn t make any since. They finally gave me a discount but still. This is probably the most stupidest paying system ever. Idk if it is like this in other terminals but it still is so stupid. Maybe I had a bad day or I m overreacting but still it makes ZERO since. Plus they only have 4 restaurants so everything is so crowded

Worst rental car setup ever. On the map provided in the terminal there is ZERO rental car information. When you pick up your baggage there is a kiosk for help but all it will do is call the rental desk. Bus drivers were no help either. Thank god for the volunteer at the information desk. Thank you for your help. Will try not to fly into dca ever again.

Excellent place to stay, nice location to hold meetings. Staff tries hard to accommodate your needs. No upgraded rooms available.

One of the most pleasant airports. Short lines, good food options and direct metro access.

My first time to the DMV... Awesome airport, clean, great service and the drinks were great!!!

I live in DC and by far this is the worst airport from a ground and baggage service perspective. In the last 3 months totaling 4 flights, landing in DCA I experienced waiting for ground crew to park the plane every time. On one flight we sat on the tarmac 30 min due to our gate being occupied by a empty plane that was not departing for sometime. Poor management and lack of sense of urgency seems to be an issue with this airport

Staff at this airport are terrible and rude. I've flown out of 35x twice now and the people working down there loading the buses are horrible, not sure who their managers are but a course in how to treat people who have been traveling all day is much needed. Both times they have just been awful. Will avoid this airport in the future if I can

This is a pretty nice airport, but the Uber surge you'll have when leaving the airport will be high

A superb example of traffic planning used as a form of torture. The signage is horrible. The airport has aged poorly and never runs on time. Be kind to yourself and those who may need you for a pick-up and go to Dulles (even with the stupid buses). Lastly, it was renamed by the "Deify Reagan Committee."

I purchased a rolling backpack in August from this store in August. Today I used it for the first time on a business trip. When lifting to my back a strap broke right at the seam. An obviously manufacturing defect. No problem exchanging it today. Manager was very customer oriented. I will shop here again.

the closest airport from where i live! and it gives an amazing view of planesss

loved flying into/out of reagan. i flew through terminal a, which is where southwest, frontier and air canada operate out of. it s a smaller, older terminal away from the main airport activity. however the architecture is awesome, and it s pretty well designed, given the tiny footprint they had to build on. food options are good and convenient. the terminal is very easy to get around. the highlight of my visit was the stunning views of washington after we took off. location of this airport is incredible.

I love this airport. It is small enough that you can get from ticketing to terminal in minutes - no trains or long walks. When you plane lands, you can usually be off the airplane and heading towards baggage claim in seconds. Most big airports make you wait half an hour on the plane before you can get off.

National Airport (DCA or Reagan Airport) is just across the Potomac River from Washington DC so when you fly in or take off, depending on the direction of the wind, you can get a great aerial view of the Pentagon or the Washington DC monuments. There are direct flights to Miami which connect with most Latin American countries.

Just minutes (single digit minutes) from DC, small enough to navigate easily, Metro accessible, a great airport. Food choices aren't half bad either!

WiFi sucks! Can't get a stable connection and when it does connect it is sooooo sloooooow

Limited food options

Good handling through TSA using pre-check.

A mixed review for Chicken Schwarma--inside was flavorful, but chicken was all on one side. The PITA-- it must have been ancient--it crumbled to pieces as I picked it, made it impossible to eat the sandwich. I had to eat it too fast as chunks fell due to pita breaking apart.