Washington Dulles International Airport

History

Origins

Before World War II, Hoover Field was the main commercial airport serving Washington, on the site now occupied by the Pentagon and its parking lots. It was replaced by Washington National Airport in 1941, a short distance southeast. After the war, in 1948, the Civil Aeronautics Administration began to consider sites for a second major airport to serve the nation's capital. Congress passed the Washington Airport Act in 1950 to provide funding for a new airport in the region. The initial CAA proposal in 1951 called for the airport to be built in Fairfax County near what is now Burke Lake Park, but protests from residents, as well as the rapid expansion of Washington's suburbs during the time, led to reconsideration of this plan. One competing plan called for the airport to be built in the Pender area of Fairfax County, while another called for the conversion of Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland, into a commercial airport.

The current site was selected by President Eisenhower in 1958; the Dulles name was chosen by Eisenhower's aviation advisor Pete Quesada, who later served as the first head of the Federal Aviation Administration. As a result of the site selection, the unincorporated, largely African-American community of Willard, which once stood in the airport's current footprint, was demolished, and 87 property owners had their holdings condemned.

Design and construction

The civil engineering firm Ammann and Whitney was named lead contractor. The airport was dedicated by President John F. Kennedy and Eisenhower on November 17, 1962. As originally opened, the airport had three long runways (current day runways 1C/19C, 1R/19L, and 12/30) and one shorter one (where current taxiway Q is located). Its original name, Dulles International Airport, was changed in 1984 to Washington Dulles International Airport.

The main terminal was designed in 1958 by famed Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, and it is highly regarded for its graceful beauty, suggestive of flight. The terminal was built without any concourses and gates as all aircraft were parked at remote sites. Passengers were bussed to their aircraft by way of mobile lounges that raised up to the aircraft level; some are still in use today. The first midfield terminal that included gates and jetbridges was constructed in 1985 when New York Air and other airlines began hub operations at Dulles. In the 1990s, the main terminal at Dulles was reconfigured to allow more space between the front of the building and the ticket counters. Additions at both ends of the main terminal more than doubled the structure's length. The original terminal at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan, was modeled after the Saarinen terminal at Dulles.

The design included a landscaped man-made lake to collect rainwater, a low-rise hotel, and a row of office buildings along the north side of the main parking lot. The design also included a two-level road in front of the terminal to separate arrival and departure traffic and a federally owned limited access highway connecting the terminal to the Capital Beltway (I-495) about 17 miles (27 km) to the east; the highway system eventually grew to include a parallel toll road to handle commuter traffic and an extension to connect to I-66. The access road had a wide median strip to allow the construction of a passenger rail line, which opened as an extension of the Washington Metro's Silver Line on November 15, 2022.

By 1985 the original design, featuring mobile lounges to meet each plane, was no longer well-suited to Dulles's role as a hub airport. Instead, midfield concourses were constructed to allow passengers to walk between connecting flights without visiting the main terminal. Mobile lounges were still used for international flights and to transport passengers between the midfield concourses and the main terminal; Concourse C/D was the first to be built, followed by Concourse A/B. A tunnel (consisting of a passenger walkway and moving sidewalks) that links the main terminal and Concourse B was opened in 2004. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) began a renovation program for the airport including a new security mezzanine with more room for lines.

Operations and milestones

The first scheduled flight at Dulles was an Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L-188 Super Electra from Newark International Airport in New Jersey on November 19, 1962. The first scheduled transatlantic nonstop flight to serve the airport commenced just shy of two years later, in June 1964.

Dulles was initially considered a white elephant, being far out of town with few flights; in 1965, Dulles averaged 89 airline operations a day while National Airport (now Reagan) averaged 600 despite not allowing jets. Airport operations grew along with Virginia suburbs and the Dulles Technology Corridor; perimeter and slot restrictions at National forced long-distance flights to use Dulles. In 1969, Dulles had 2.01 million passengers while National had 9.9 million.

The era of wide-body jets began in 1970, when First Lady Pat Nixon christened a Pan Am Boeing 747-100 at Dulles in the presence of Pan Am chairman Najeeb Halaby. Rather than a traditional champagne bottle, red, white, and blue water was sprayed on the aircraft. Pan Am's first Boeing 747 flight was from New York–JFK to London Heathrow Airport.

The day after Christmas 1973, President Richard Nixon flew from Dulles to Los Angeles on board a United Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 commercial flight instead of on Air Force One. This was due to a nationwide fuel shortage caused at the time by the Arab oil embargo. Less than two years later, on May 24, 1976, supersonic flights between the U.S. and Europe began with the arrival of a British Airways Concorde from London–Heathrow and an Air France Concorde from Paris–Charles De Gaulle; both planes were lined nose-to-nose at Dulles for photos.

In 1983, the Space Shuttle Enterprise arrived at Dulles atop a modified Boeing 747 after touring Europe and before returning to Edwards Air Force Base. Two years later Enterprise returned and was placed in a storage hangar near Runway 12/30 to await construction of a planned expansion to the National Air and Space Museum. Enterprise left Dulles in 2012 for its new home at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.

In 1985, New York Air began a small hub operation at Dulles, with 35 daily flights to eight cities in Florida and the northeastern United States. Colgan Airways became a feeder carrier for New York Air with additional service to smaller cities known as New York Air Connection. In 1987, the airline merged into Continental Airlines, which maintained the hub operation until 1989. Also in 1985, Presidential Airways opened its hub at the airport, and it soon began a series of code-shares – first with Pan Am from mid-1986 through early 1988, then as Continental Express on behalf of Continental Airlines between mid-1987 and mid-1988, and finally as United Express, on behalf of United Airlines, from mid 1988 until Presidential ceased operations on December 5, 1989.

Name

John Foster Dulles was the Secretary of State under President Dwight Eisenhower. After Dulles had to resign in 1959 due to a cancer diagnosis and died a month later, Eisenhower advocated for the new Washington-area airport to be named after him in tribute. Eisenhower was present along with the current president, John F. Kennedy, at the airport dedication in 1962.

Dulles originally used DIA – the initials of Dulles International Airport – as its airport code. When handwritten, DIA was often misread as DCA – the code for Washington National Airport. This prompted officials to change Dulles Airport's code to IAD – standing for "International Airport Dulles."

In 1990, a United States Senate joint resolution to change Dulles International Airport's name to Washington Eisenhower International Airport was proposed by Senator Bob Dole, but the bill did not pass.

Beginning in 2024, an effort by Congress has been made to rename the airport as the Donald J. Trump International Airport, in honor of President Donald Trump. In April 2024, a bill was proposed in the United States House of Representatives to rename the airport after Trump, but did not pass. A new bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in January 2025, renewing the proposal to rename Dulles after Trump; this bill was announced a few days after a similar state bill was proposed in Tennessee, to rename Nashville International Airport after Trump.

Terminals

The airport's terminal complex consists of the Main Terminal (which includes four aircraft gates, known as the "Z" Gates), and two parallel midfield terminal buildings: Concourses A/B and Concourses C/D. The entire terminal complex has a total of 139 gates – 123 of which have jetways and 16 of which are hardstand locations from which passengers can board or disembark using the airport's plane mate vehicles.

Inter-terminal transportation

Conceived in early planning sessions in 1959, Dulles is one of a few remaining airports to utilize mobile lounges (also known as "plane mates" or "people movers"), now only used for transport to the International Arrivals Building as well as transport for Concourse D. They have all been given names based on the postal abbreviations of 50 states, e.g., VA, MD, AK.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has partially phased out the mobile lounge system for inter-terminal passenger movements with the AeroTrain, an underground people mover that currently operates to all of the concourses except concourse D, with a passenger tunnel remaining to concourses A and B. However, the Aerotrain to concourse C stops at a terminal north of the actual concourse, leaving a significant walk from the terminal to concourse after disembarking. Plane mates remain in use to disembark international passengers and carry them to the International Arrivals Building, as well as to transport passengers to and from aircraft on the hard stands that are called H gates (i.e., those parked remotely on the apron without access to jet bridges).

Main terminal

Dulles's main terminal houses ticketing on the upper level, baggage claim and U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the lower level, and annexes for the International Arrivals Building for international passenger processing, as well as the four Z gates (used by Air Canada and United Express), H gates, various information kiosks and other support facilities. The main terminal was recognized by the American Institute of Architects in 1966 for its design concept; its roof is a suspended catenary providing a wide enclosed area unimpeded by any columns.

Its main terminal was designed by Eero Saarinen, who also designed the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The main terminal was extended in 1996 to 1,240 feet (380 m)—Saarinen's original design length—which was slightly more than double its originally constructed length of 600 feet (180 m). On September 22, 2009, an expansion to include the 41,400 square feet (3,850 m2) International Arrivals Building opened for customs and immigration processing with a capacity to process 2,400 passengers per hour.

Also in September 2009, a 121,700 square feet (11,310 m2) central security checkpoint was added on a new security mezzanine level of the main terminal. This checkpoint replaced previous checkpoints that were located behind the ticketing areas. Travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck and CLEAR still use this area to clear security. A separate security checkpoint is available on the baggage claim level for staff only, and previously had access for all passengers as the Dulles Diamond area. Both public security checkpoints connect to escalators to the AeroTrain, which links the main terminal with the A and B concourse and links to a tunnel connecting to the C concourse.

Midfield terminals

All airlines aside from certain express flights operate out of two linear satellite terminals. Each terminal is divided into two concourses, with the north terminal containing Concourses A and B, and the south terminal containing Concourses C and D.

Concourses A and B are located in the midfield terminal building closer to the main terminal. They are utilized by all non-United flights as well as a limited number of United Express flights.

Concourse A has 47 gates, located in the eastern half of the north midfield terminal. It consists of a permanent ground-level set of gates designed for small planes and United Express flights, and several former Concourse B gates. The concourse is primarily used for international flights. Air France and KLM have a lounge opposite gate A19, Etihad Airways operates a First and Business Class lounge across from gate A15, and Virgin Atlantic has a Clubhouse lounge adjacent to gate A31. Concourse A's AeroTrain station is located between gates A6 and A14.

Concourse B has 28 gates, located in the western half of the terminal. It is the first of the permanent elevated midfield concourses. Originally constructed in 1998 and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, the B concourse contained 20 gates. In 2003, 4 additional gates were added, followed by a 15-gate expansion in 2008. In addition to the AeroTrain station located between gates B51 and B62, Concourse B is also connected to the main terminal by an underground walkway. Concourse B is used by some international carriers, and is also utilized by almost all non-United domestic and Canada flights. The facility also includes a British Airways Galleries lounge adjacent to the AeroTrain station, a Lufthansa lounge between gates B49 and B51, and a Turkish Airlines lounge near gate B43.

Concourses C and D are located in the south midfield terminal, and are used for United Airlines flights, including all mainline flights and most United Express regional flights (save for a few that use Concourse A).

These concourses were constructed in 1983 as temporary facilities and designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum. The two concourses have 22 gates each, numbered C1–C28 and D1–D32, with odd-numbered gates on the north side of the building and even numbered gates on the south side. Concourse C composes the eastern half of the terminal and Concourse D composes the western half. The C/D concourses were given a facelift in 2006 that included light-fixture upgrades, new paint finishes, new ceiling grids and tiles, heating and air conditioning replacement, and complete restroom renovations.

Airline lounges

Since many major domestic and international airlines have a large presence at Washington Dulles, there are many airline lounges within the airport:

Air France / KLM: Air France/KLM Lounge, A Concourse across from gate A22.

British Airways: BA Lounge for First class and Business class passengers (with Concorde Dining offered for First class passengers), located opposite the Concourse B Transit station.

Capital One opened its second ever airport lounge at Dulles. It is operated by a third-party hospitality company and was opened on September 7, 2023, located in the main terminal just beyond the TSA PreCheck checkpoint.

Etihad Airways: First and Business class lounge located adjacent to gate A14; managed by Chase and available to Chase Sapphire Reserve holders.

Lufthansa: Senator Lounge and Business Lounge, B Concourse at gate B51.

Turkish Airlines: Concourse B, near gate B41.

United Airlines: Two United Clubs in Concourse C (at gates C7 and C17), and one in Concourse D at gate D8. There is also a Polaris Lounge located directly across from gate C17.

Virgin Atlantic: Clubhouse, Concourse A across from gate A32.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Ground transportation

Roads

Washington Dulles is accessible via the Dulles Access Road/Dulles Greenway (State Route 267) and State Route 28. The Access Road is a toll-free, limited access highway owned by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to facilitate car access to Washington Dulles from the Capital Beltway and Interstate 66. After it opened, non-airport traffic between Washington and Reston became so heavy that a parallel set of toll lanes were added on the same right-of-way to accommodate non-airport traffic (Dulles Toll Road). The airport-only lanes are both less congested and toll-free. As of November 1, 2008, MWAA assumed responsibility from the Virginia Department of Transportation both for operating the Dulles Toll Road and for the construction of the Silver Line down its median. Route 28, which runs north–south along the eastern edge of the airport, has been upgraded to a limited access highway, with the interchanges financed through a property tax surcharge on nearby business properties. The Dulles Toll Road (VA-267) is extended to the south of Leesburg as the Dulles Greenway.

Public transportation

Washington Metro service is available to Dulles via the station on the Silver Line. Service began operation on November 15, 2022.

Fairfax Connector bus routes 952 (to Herndon station, Reston Town Center station, and Wiehle–Reston East station via Sunset Hills Road) and 983 (to Innovation Center station and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center) serve Washington Dulles at the Kiss and Fly near the airport Metro station (moved from a terminal-adjacent stop in November 2025). Formerly, the Metrobus 5A route served the airport.

Megabus provides service from Dulles to Charlottesville and Blacksburg.

Washington Flyer has a monopoly to operate cabs from Washington Dulles Airport. Uber and Lyft are popular modes of transport to and from the airport, and MWAA receives a $4 fee per trip, which is included in the quoted fare.

Accidents and incidents

On October 1, 1965, a Cessna 182 crashed on approach to Dulles Airport in a field in Chantilly, killing all four occupants on board.

There were three deaths during a nine-day air show held at Washington Dulles in conjunction with Transpo '72 (officially called the U.S. International Transportation Exposition, a $10 million event sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and attended by over one million visitors from around the world).

On May 29, 1972, the third day of the show, the pilot of a Kite Rider (a variety of hang glider) was killed in a crash. This was to be the first of the three air deaths during the Air Show.

On June 3, 1972, a second death occurred at the Transpo '72 Air Show, during a sport plane pylon race. At 2:40 pm, during the second lap and near a turn about pylon 3, a trailing aircraft's (LOWERS R-1 N66AN) wing and propeller hit the right wing tip of a leading aircraft (CASSUTT BARTH N7017). The right wing immediately sheared off the fuselage, and the damaged aircraft crashed almost instantly, killing the 29-year-old pilot, Hugh C. Alexander. He was a professional Air Racer with over 10,200 hours.

On June 4, 1972, during the last day of the 9-day Transpo '72 Air Show, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds experienced their first fatal crash at an air show. Major Joe Howard flying Thunderbird 3 was killed when his F-4E-32-MC Phantom II, 66-0321, lost power during a vertical maneuver. The pilot broke out of formation just after he completed a wedge roll and was ascending at around 2,500 feet (760 m) AGL. The aircraft staggered and descended in a flat attitude with little forward speed. Although Major Howard ejected as the aircraft fell back to earth from about 1,500 feet (460 m) tail first, and descended under a good canopy, winds blew him into the fireball ascending from the blazing crash site. The parachute melted and the pilot plummeted 200 feet (61 m), sustaining fatal injuries.

On December 1, 1974, while diverting to Washington Dulles, TWA Flight 514 crashed onto the western slope of Mount Weather. All 85 passengers and 7 crew members were killed on impact.

In popular culture

Dulles has been a popular filming location, particularly in its early years when it had relatively low traffic levels in relation to its size and its elaborate design.

The airport featured extensively in the Airport film franchise – in all but the first film of the series. In particular, both Airport 1975 and Airport '79 contain scenes shot both inside and outside the main terminal building in its pre-extended state. Also shown is the mobile lounge system operating in its original form when the lounges directly docked with aircraft on the apron. Airport '77 contains a night-time view of the terminal with a Boeing 747 taking off in the foreground.

Die Hard 2 was set at Dulles, but in fact contains no footage actually shot at the airport. Only the movie poster has an image of the main terminal.