WASHINGTON (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) asked the U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday to disqualify United Airlines from winning one of five new roundtrip flights from congested Washington Reagan National Airport.

JetBlue ( JBLU ) said United's proposal to add a Washington to Los Angeles flight should be rejected because it would take off before 7 a.m. and the airline said that is prohibited by Congress. On May 16, President Joe Biden signed legislation creating the new flights at the busy airport in Arlington, Virginia, outside the nation's capital.