A THREEFOLD INCREASE ON THE PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED PROGRAMME

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, United Airlines and the US Department of Transportation have announced a capital investment programme of more than $20 billion for Washington Dulles International Airport, to be delivered in phases over the next decade. The figure represents a significant increase over the $7 billion previously allocated for the Dulles modernisation programme. The Airports Authority, working with airlines serving Dulles, will finance much of the project through municipal bonds, which carry significantly lower interest rates than bonds available to private-sector firms.

Airports Authority President and Chief Executive Jack Potter said the construction effort built upon the multiyear Dulles Master Plan developed in consultation with airline partners, and that the Authority looked forward to building new facilities that would be a source of pride. United Chief Executive Scott Kirby described Dulles as the gateway connecting the nation’s capital to the world and said the transformation built on United’s long-term investment in its hub. The project stems from a December 2025 request for information issued by the Department of Transportation seeking proposals to modernise the airport, following which more than 30 submissions were reviewed.

WHAT CHANGES FOR PASSENGERS

The programme covers more than five million square feet of new or renovated space. The current C/D Concourse will be replaced with facilities designed to support more and larger aircraft, and additional gates will provide more spacious seating areas, dedicated work areas and amenities. New AeroTrain connections and a central walking tunnel will improve walkability between the terminal, concourses and gates — the enabling condition for retiring the mobile lounges, the elevated transporter vehicles that have carried passengers between the terminal and remote gates since the airport opened and which have become one of the more distinctive, and more criticised, features of the Dulles experience.

International arrivals will be reconfigured around a walkable path to a new, larger US Customs facility. Other elements include upgraded entry and close-in parking, new check-in areas, revised security screening, improved baggage handling systems, and additional concessions and lounges — including expanded United Club space and plans for one of the largest United Polaris lounges in the world. Eero Saarinen’s Main Terminal design, a listed example of mid-century American architecture, will be preserved and expanded rather than replaced.

CONCOURSE E OPENS LATER THIS YEAR

Significant modernisation work is already under way independently of the new programme. Later this year the new Concourse E will open with 14 new United gates intended to support the airline’s international network expansion, providing direct access to the AeroTrain system and introducing new passenger lounges. US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said the partnership with United Airlines and the Airports Authority would create a world class airport with additional gates, improved mobility and efficient security screening while preserving the primary terminal. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said the project would bring new jobs and infrastructure improvements to Northern Virginia and the Commonwealth as a whole.

The Airports Authority operates both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport, together serving more than 200 nonstop destinations and more than 50 million passengers annually, generating over $20 billion in annual economic output and supporting more than 200,000 regional jobs. The Authority also managed construction and financing for the 23-mile Silver Line Metrorail extension providing direct rail service between Dulles and central Washington.