Airlines at a growing Dulles International Airport will see higher operating costs in 2026 under a new budget adopted Nov. 19 by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
The $889.5 million package, adopted unanimously by the authority’s board of directors, estimates that the “cost per enplanement” at Dulles will rise from the $11.17 budgeted in 2025 to $12.77 in 2026 — an increase of about 14%.
Cost-per-enplanement figures calculate the estimated costs passed along by airports to airlines in charges and fees, divided by the estimated passenger total for the year.
Actual figures often vary from budget estimates. MWAA officials said the current projected cost per enplanement at Dulles has declined to $9.26 since adoption of the budget nearly a year ago.
At Reagan National Airport, the projected cost per enplanement is $10.41 for 2026, up from $8.41 in the 2025 budget and from the current estimate of $7.72 for the year.
In each case, the costs passed onto airlines are being held to “competitive levels,” MWAA President and CEO Jack Potter said at the Nov. 19 meeting.
“We are closely managing expenses,” Potter said, adding that current data for passenger travel at the two airports “continue to be strong.”
The authority earlier this year signed a revamped financial agreement with the airlines at Dulles, a key step in a master plan that envisions growth at the facility to one day top 90 million passengers per year. That’s about three times the current total.
Even approaching such growth will be decades in the future. At the Nov. 19 meeting, MWAA board chair Thorn Pozen said the shorter-term outlook was stable.
The authority is in “a very positive budget situation even under some challenging times,” said Pozen, a D.C. representative who will finish his two one-year terms as chair in December.
Dulles and Reagan National were both among the dozens of airports across the country directed to cancel flights in response to air control staffing shortages, as the federal government shutdown dragged into November. With the shutdown now over after a record 43 days, the Federal Aviation Administration lifted all restrictions on commercial flights this week, allowing regular operations to resume on Monday (Nov. 24) — just before Thanksgiving.
MWAA leaders are expecting a year of growth at Dulles, projecting 15.3 million enplanements for 2026 — an increase from the currently expected 14.6 million in 2025. The most recent estimate is up from 13.7 million enplanements projected for 2026 in the 2025 budget, with both domestic and international travel expected to show ongoing increases.
To meet the demand, the airport’s new Concourse E is on track to open in late 2026, officials said.
At Reagan National, the current expected enplanement total of 12.6 million is down from the budgeted 13.2 million.
In 2024, National set an all-time record 13.1 million enmplanements, but 2025 has presented a series of challenges for the 85-year-old facility.
The seven-week government shutdown, a soft regional economy, airspace restrictions and the residual impacts of January’s deadly collision between a commercial airliner and U.S. Army helicopter all affected business at the airport in Arlington.
For 2026, MWAA is hoping for a slight rebound to 12.8 million enplanements at National.
MWAA’s adopted 2026 budget represents an increase of $60.6 million, or 7.3%, from the current year. On the operating side, the budget amounts are:
- $234.8 million for operations at Dulles, up 6.9% from the current year
- $128.5 million for operations at Reagan National, also up 6.9%
- $151.1 million for consolidated functions, up 7%
- $85.5 million for public safety, up 9.2%
The cost of debt service for the year is budgeted at $232.5 million at Dulles, up 9% from 2025, and $57.1 million at Reagan National, up 1.7%.
To bring in revenue that doesn’t come directly from airlines, the authority identified three priority areas in the new budget: parking and other concessions, real estate development and digital revenue.
To get to 2026, Dulles and National have to get through the upcoming holiday season.
“Both airports are ready,” said Thomas Beatty, the authority’s chief operations officer.
New MWAA leadership picked for 2026
At the Nov. 19 meeting, the MWAA board chose Mark Uncapher, a representative of Maryland, to succeed Pozen as chair on Jan. 1.
Uncapher currently serves as vice chair of the board and cochair of the finance and strategic-development committees.
Chosen as vice chair was Alex Vogel, a Virginia representative who was appointed to the board last fall by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Vogel was nominated at the meeting after MWAA nominations committee chair Kate Hanley reported that there had been “no active nominations” at the committee level.
At least one MWAA board member suggested Vogel’s year of tenure wasn’t long enough to prime him for a leadership position.
Brett Gibson, a representative of Virginia, disagreed, championing Vogel as “an engaged board member” who is ready for the position.
