As part of its normal 52-day update cycle, the FAA has issued new updates for helicopter routes around Washington D.C. airspace, prompted by the midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in January.
For DCA specifically, the FAA continued the restriction of helicopter Routes 1 and 5 as only operable to priority medical and law enforcement aircraft. The agency also reduced the boundaries of helicopter Zones 1, 2, and 5 that surround DCA. In July, the FAA took similar action concerning Zones 3 and 4.
In addition to changes around DCA, the FAA made changes to helicopter routes for Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). As part of the changes, Route 12 at BWI has been moved north of I-95