DCA - Washington National Tower

FAA Control Tower in Washington, District of Columbia

Facility Information

Facility Overview
Identifier DCA
Name Washington National Tower
Type Tower
Leveli Level 9 History
Core 30 Airporti Yes
Airspace & Operations
Hours of Operationi 0000-2359 (always open)
Airspace Class Class B
Approach/Departure PCT
Overlying ARTCC ZDC
Airport Diagram View Airport Diagram (PDF)
Location & Contact
Address 1 Aviation Circle
Washington, DC 20001
Phone Number 703-413-1530

Salary Information

2026 Pay for Washington National Tower

Career Leveli Hourly Min. Hourly Max. Salary Min. Salary Max.i
CPC $68.05 $91.86 $142,016 $191,722
D3 $58.77 $68.05 $122,650 $142,016
D2 $49.49 $58.77 $103,276 $122,650
AG $30.92 $30.92 $64,538 $64,538
Includes everything except premium pay.
Washington National Tower Pay Factors
Facility Leveli Level 9
Locality Area Washington-Baltimore
Locality Payi 33.94%
Controller Incentive Pay (CIP)i 3.30%

Staffing and Training

Staffing Information, April 2026
CRWG Targeti 30 CPCs
CPCs on Boardi 26 CPCs
↳ Developmental 23
↳ CPC-IT 0 (Transfer)1
↳ CPC-IT 2 (Transfer)3
↳ CPC-IT 3 (Transfer)1
Current Staffing Leveli 87%
↳ Est. Trainee Certifications+ 6.8
↳ Committed Inbounds+ 2
↳ Committed Outbounds- 1
↳ Projected Retirements/Losses- 1.8
Training Information, April 2026
Training Time (Avg)i 1.26 years
↳ New Hires 1.24 years
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 1.18 years
Training Success Rate (Avg)i 85%
↳ New Hires 77%
↳ Transfers (CPC-IT) 89%
Travel Days from Academyi 3 days

Historical Trends

DCA Staffing Percentages

DCA Personnel Counts

DCA Training Metrics

Traffic

April 2025 - March 2026 (12 Months)
Tower Operations 337,955 operations/year
Average Daily Operations 926 operations/day

Traffic History

NCEPT

Current NCEPT Metrics
Possible Lossesi
Apr 2026
0
Expected Staffing (12-Month)i
Apr 2026
93.2%
Possible Gains to National Avgi
Apr 2026
0
Priority / Draft Orderi
Mar 2026
#115
Inbound ERRs on Filei
Feb 2026
5
Employees with Outbound ERRsi
Feb 2026
2 (8%)

NCEPT is the centralized system for managing controller-requested transfers between facilities. Transfer requests are only approved based upon a set of complex metrics that attempt to balance the distribution of the workforce.

Demand Trends

NCEPT Priority

Administration

Organizational Structure
Service Area Eastern
District Washington
HR Region Eastern

Nearest Facilities