In Washington on Wednesday, the union representing thousands of flight attendants said it has safety concerns about President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where the structure would sit on final approach.
Flight Attendants Association-CWA President Sara Nelson, whose union represents 55,000 flight attendants across 20 airlines, said the 250-foot (76 meter) arch compounds unaddressed safety issues from a January 2025 crash over the Potomac River that killed 67 people. Nelson criticized a plan to convert the arch into what she described as “a top grade military complex” able to host drones and snipers while storing ammunition, saying in a statement attributed to her, “DCA is already stretched to its limit, we do not need an obstacle taking up space in our flight path.”
Trump said last month in a social media post that at the “strong request” of the military he had agreed to convert the planned 250-foot-tall (76-meter) memorial arch into a top grade Military Complex. The Federal Aviation Administration said last month before that announcement that the arch would not pose a hazard to aircraft but should be marked with a non-standard eternal flame on top and floodlight projectors pointed toward it to make it noticeable for pilots.
An assessment by the National Park Service said the memorial arch could disrupt the historical significance of dozens of nearby sites, though the Park Service approved the project. The arch received early approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were all tapped by Trump, while three veterans and an architectural historian sued saying Congress must approve it. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced early last month that excavation at Memorial Circle would begin within weeks.