Article Text
Dulles International Airport could undergo a sweeping $22 billion transformation that would expand its landmark main terminal, replace aging concourses and extend AeroTrain service throughout the airport by 2034.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority shared the proposed revitalization plan with airlines in May, less than a year after its board approved a long-term master plan for Dulles.
That existing plan, adopted July 16, calls for $7 billion in capital improvements through the end of the century, when annual passenger traffic is projected to reach 90 million.
The accelerated proposal appears to have been developed with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The department recently requested project ideas for revitalizing Dulles after President Donald Trump called the airport “terrible” and “incorrectly designed” during a Dec. 2 cabinet meeting.
MWAA said it is awaiting an official government decision before discussing the initiative further. The authority did not indicate when an announcement might arrive, and the Transportation Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Terminal expansion and new concourses
The proposal would preserve architect Eero Saarinen’s distinctive main terminal, which opened in 1962, while extending the building 300 feet in both eastern and western directions. Renovating the check-in counters is also under consideration.
A new terminal concourse and a renovated Concourse A—currently known as Concourse A/B—would connect to the main terminal through an above-ground passage. That $6.2 billion phase could begin construction in April 2027.
The existing Concourse C/D would be demolished and replaced by a new 33-gate Concourse B serving United Airlines regional flights. The estimated $2.26 billion project could start in January 2028.
Concourse E, under construction since 2023 and scheduled to open this fall, would be renamed Concourse C and serve United’s international flights. Its complete build-out could be accelerated to December 2030, well ahead of the 2045 target in the current master plan.
That expansion would include a new AeroTrain station and carry an estimated $4 billion price tag, although it is unclear whether that amount includes the nearly completed first portion of Concourse E.
A new Concourse D would serve domestic flights operated by airlines other than United. Work on its eastern gates could begin in June 2027 at an estimated cost of $3.7 billion.
AeroTrain expansion would replace mobile lounges
Another $3.75 billion project would extend the underground AeroTrain system from Concourse A to the new Concourse D, which would also be linked by a subterranean central corridor. Construction could start in January 2028 and finish by December 2033.
Once AeroTrain reaches every concourse, Dulles would no longer need its divisive mobile lounges, also known as people movers.
MWAA’s existing plans already envisioned gradually retiring the vehicles, but officials previously expected them to remain in service for another 15 to 20 years. Some have operated since the airport opened in the 1960s, and the fleet still makes as many as 800 trips daily between the main terminal and concourses.
Despite safety and efficiency concerns, MWAA has continued planning for their near-term use. Chief Operations Officer Thomas Beatty told the authority’s board last September that an updated mobile-lounge prototype was expected at Dulles for evaluation in late 2026. The board approved a $160 million contract with a Pennsylvania company in 2023 to overhaul existing vehicles.
The revitalization presentation calls for financing the work with $21.8 billion in new bonds and $1.1 billion in airport fees. Those figures include inflation and future interest payments.