The Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) around Washington DC in the USA is to be reduced in size, answering the prayers of some – but not all – light aircraft pilots in the area.
This particular ADIZ had become something of a beacon in the fight between the authorities and light pilots over restricted airspace. Established after 9/11, the zone meant that a large number of private-use airfields were no longer freely available. The new definition of the zone’s extent (which basically means that it loses its ‘Mickey Mouse ears’ and reverts to an almost pure 30 nm-radius circle based on the DCA beacon) means that four airfields and 1,800 square miles of airspace are freed up.
