On any other weekday morning at 11 a.m., Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport would have already been buzzing with passengers for hours.

But on Thursday, a sense of dread hung over one of the busiest airports in the United States as passengers arrived for the first flights – hours after the nation’s deadliest commercial plane crash in 15 years. 

‘When you walk through right now, it’s kind of eerie,’ commented passenger Alexis Reyes, 43 of Las Cruces, New Mexico, who was trying to make her way home. ‘It’s kind of scary and kind of like – on-edge.’ 

Reyes, a network engineer who does work in the D.C. area, flies in and out of DCA frequently, but in the aftermath of the American Airlines and Black Hawk helicopter crash, she told DailyMail.com that she ‘never had this weird feeling before.’ 

All 67 people involved in the crash – four crew and 60 passengers from the Wichita, Kansas to Washington flight, and the three aboard the helicopter, are feared to be dead, in the worst air disaster in a quarter century. 

Daniel Kocke, a 47-year-old Department of Defense employee based in St. Louis shared Reyes’ sentiment. 

‘This is incredibly somber,’ he said. ‘The fact that not even 12 hours ago you’ve got a plane go down at the same airport you’re getting ready to take off at, is eye-opening I would say, right? It doesn’t make me feel real good about flying.’

Kocke, who’s also an Air Force reservist, said the crash felt especially personal since members of the military were involved. 

Passengers and crew pictured at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Thursday morning as flights resumed after the deadly Potomac River crash Wednesday night. Passengers told DailyMail.com they found the experience ‘eerie’ and ‘somber’ 

A woman heads to her boarding gate at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport the morning after 67 lives were taken in an in-flight crash between an American Airlines commuter yet and a Black Hawk helicopter

‘It does really hit home when your fellow service members die,’ he told DailyMail.com. 

Aster Andmichael, 40, who works in property management and lives in Washington, D.C. was at DCA Wednesday night when the tragedy on the Potomac was unfolding. 

She was at the airport to accompany her senior citizen father, who was flying to Indiana via Orlando, Florida. 

When she received a text message notification saying his Wednesday night flight had been canceled, she went searching through the airport for information. 

‘And then I asked and that’s when I learned that this plane crashed here at the airport and I started crying,’ she said. 

She was still emotional early Thursday morning as she sat on the belt of the baggage claim, where a number of people were camped out. 

‘We’re lucky, he’s lucky, that it’s not his flight,’ she said, motioning toward her father. ‘And I feel so sad for the people who lost their families.’

‘It’s OK to get stuck here. I wish all those passenger were stuck instead of out there dead,’ Andmichael added, choking back tears.

Adding an element of horror to being at DCA Thursday morning was the fact that wreckage from the crash and the first responders searching for bodies were visible from many of the airport’s windows 

Flights started taking off again right at 11 a.m., with two Southwest Airlines flights taking off back to back 

Adding a dimension of horror to DCA passengers’ Thursday morning travel experience was the fact that the boats engaged in the search the dead were visible from many of the windows at the airport. 

‘It may well freak people out,’ conceded Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, whose surbuban D.C. district hugs DCA. 

Beyer was among the elected officials milling around, talking to the dozens of reporters representing outlets from around the globe who had descended on DCA’s Terminal 1. 

A reporter had asked Beyer how passengers were supposed to feel flying right above the crash site with DCA scheduled to reopen at 11 a.m.  

Beyer pressed that air travel ‘is still safe.’ 

‘This was an accident last night, in the dark, which is typically when the training exercises are taking place. It is safe, people need to come back. People are eager to get about their business,’ he said. 

But that message hadn’t resonated with all the passengers. 

Gigi Dix, a 58-year-old government worker from Milwaukee admitted in the Dunkin’ Donuts line that she was ‘a little scared.’ 

Dozens of reporters descended on DCA in the aftermath of Wednesday night’s air disaster, in which an American Airlines jet and Black Hawk helicopter crashed and plummeted into the Potomac River – killing all involved 

Had she ever been apprehensive about flying? 

‘Never. Until last night,’ Dix said. 

While every other passenger DailyMail.com spoke with said they’d continue to use DCA – over other regional hubs Baltimore Washington Airport or Dulles International Airport, Dix said she’d likely choose a different option. 

‘No, I’ll probably drive,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know the risk that was involved. I do now.’