Williams told reporters National's continued closing, "Sends a horrible signal about our nation's capital, that we, a proud capital, a symbol of commerce a symbol of free exchange and assembly, that we in our nation's capital are an open city, yet we're closing our front door." Certainly the impact of the closed door is more than symbolic, it's economic.

Leaders said National Airport serves about 45,000 passengers a day, and over 10,000 people who worked for the airport authority, or with businesses within the airport property have been laid off. Moreover, Williams and others said the region loses $5 million a day for each day the airport remains closed.

The impact on the real estate community it two-fold. First, the hotel industry is suffering a major blow, and Mayor Williams is directly linking the airport's closing to the problem. District officials said that occupancy rates at the District's 100, plus hotels was a record 75% in 2000, but had been slashed in half since the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Today, officials said some of the city's hotels are experiencing occupancy rates as low as 17%.