War in the Mideast is having an impact on passenger activity at Dulles International Airport.
About two-thirds of flights from Dulles to the broader Middle East region have been cancelled since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) President and CEO Jack Potter told the authority’s board of directors on March 18.
In 2025, international traffic at the airport set a record of 10.5 million passengers. Middle East air traffic accounts for about 10% of international travel through Dulles, according to Potter.
Much of that service is currently suspended or significantly curtailed, with the flights still operating likely having low passenger counts.
In addition to service by the airport’s dominant carrier, United Airlines, direct connections from Dulles to the Mideast are typically provided by Egyptair, Emirates, Etihad, Royal Jordanian and Saudia.
Other carriers at the airport offer Mideast service through connecting flights.
Among the war’s impacts: Emirates, which normally offers daily Airbus A380 flights between Dulles and Dubai, cancelled flights through March 15 and has now resumed them with smaller Boeing 777 aircraft operating three times per week.
On March 16, Dubai International Airport was attacked by a drone, setting off a fire. No injuries were reported, but the airport was closed for several hours before flight operations resumed.
While losing much of its Middle East service for the time being, Potter said Dulles has been the host airport for nearly two dozen charter repatriation flights that brought home American residents and, in many cases, their animals after the conflict began three weeks ago.
The decline in Mideast service is the second major blow to air travel that Dulles has faced since the start of the year.
Overall January enplanements were down 2.4% year-over-year, which MWAA leaders attributed to the snow and ice storm that grounded most flights near the end of the month.
January 2025 was also host to President Donald Trump’s inauguration, which may have increased air traffic at Dulles that month.
Despite the challenges, travel figures for February are expected to be positive, said Chryssa Westerlund, the authority’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer.
Westerlund told MWAA board members that some of the travelers impacted in late January later completed their flights.
“We captured some of that traffic in early February,” she said.
The Presidents’ Day holiday weekend (Feb. 14-16) was strong at both Dulles and Reagan National airports, officials said.
“People still want to fly,” said Thomas Beatty, the authority’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Airport officials are now looking toward the upcoming spring-break season for D.C.-area high schools. For Fairfax County Public Schools, spring break falls on March 30 through April 3 this year.
“We are excited and ready to welcome the surge,” Westerlund said.
New service to Taiwan on horizon
At the March 18 MWAA board meeting, airport officials detailed new service to Asia.
EVA Air has announced plans to begin service four times per week between Dulles and Taipei, Taiwan, on June 26. It will be the 10th North American city served by the carrier.
“The addition of the Washington, D.C., route strengthens our North American network, while providing passengers with more flexible, efficient and comfortable travel options,” EVA Air president Clay Sun said when the route was announced in late February.
Flights will depart Taipei at 7:30 p.m. local time on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, arriving at 10:30 p.m. the same day. Return flights from Dulles will depart Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1:50 a.m., arriving in Taiwan at 5:45 a.m. the following day.
The route will be operated by Boeing 787 aircraft in a three-class configuration.
Westerlund told the MWAA board that the flight is expected to generate $61 million in annual economic activity for the D.C. region, which has a large Taiwanese expatriate community.
For travelers originating in Asia, EVA Air is collaborating with travel agencies for a nine-day tour of the U.S. East Coast, featuring the District, Baltimore, Philadelphia, the Amish countryside, Atlantic City and New York City.
