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Reagan Nat'l Airport Celebrates 70th Anniversary

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) -- Reagan National Airport in the Washington area is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

President Franklin Roosevelt selected the site for the airport and opened it in 1941. It was originally named National Airport. In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed a bill to change its name to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The airport served about 344,000 passengers in its first year.

Today it serves more than 18 million passengers a year.

Another airport in the D.C. area, Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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