A hotline connecting Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport air traffic controllers and their counterparts at the Pentagon has been “inoperable” for more than three years, a Federal Aviation Administration official told lawmakers Wednesday.

Franklin McIntosh, the deputy head of air traffic control, testified Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee that the line maintained by the Defense Department has been down since March 2022.

During questioning by Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, McIntosh said the FAA had been unaware of the outage until May 1, when controllers at Reagan National were forced to order two flights to abandon landing attempts due to an Army helicopter heading to the Pentagon.

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.