Specifics remain vague on how the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) plans to fund the $22.5 billion proposed Dulles International Airport expansion plan announced July 29 at the White House.
Neither MWAA officials nor those representing dominant Dulles carrier United Airlines offered further details when asked by FFXnow on how the expansion plan could impact the existing operating agreement between the authority and airlines using Dulles.
“We don’t have anything additional to share beyond the press release and [CEO] Scott Kirby’s comments at the White House [Wednesday],” United spokesman Lina Mizerek told FFXnow.
MWAA spokesman Rob Yingling referred FFXnow to the release and related materials issued by the authority, which gave only limited details — suggesting the project would be funded through municipal bonds and potential public-private partnerships.
The U.S. Department of Transportation received about 30 proposals in response to a request for interest in modernization efforts. It chose to move forward with a submission made jointly by MWAA and United, which operates about 60% of the flights at the airport.
The proposed airport upgrade, which has been something of a preoccupation with President Donald Trump in recent months, would cost more than three times the $7 billion capital construction plan for Dulles adopted by MWAA’s board of directors in 2024 as part of a 15-year Airport Use Agreement and Premises Lease with airlines using Dulles and Reagan National Airport.
The revisions announced July 29 call for further improvements, including modernizing and expanding existing concourses, speeding up AeroTrain expansion to allow for retirement of mobile lounges, and improvements to baggage-handling operations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities.
“This is very exciting to me as a builder,” Trump said during the announcement ceremony, terming the effort a “remodeling” of an outdated gateway for the traveling public’s benefit.
“It’s considered one of the worst airports maybe anywhere in the world — really horribly thought of,” Trump said of Dulles. “We’re going to make it one of the best.”
In the White House ceremony unveiling plans, Trump suggested some facets of the proposal would require congressional approval. The Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and MWAA’s board of directors also would be involved in decision-making.
If bonds will be the main source of funding, the authority will have to prove to the financial community it has the capacity to pay them back.
Airlines could end up being charged more for use of airport facilities — charges that likely would trickle down to travelers.
Neither MWAA nor United responded to a question from FFXnow on what safeguards are in place if a future president or Congress might have less interest in supporting the expansion effort than Trump does.
The Dulles master plan adopted in 2025 anticipates passenger counts at the airport more than tripling to as much as 90 million by later this century. It was the first comprehensive update to the airport’s operating and capital plan in 40 years.
While operated since 1987 by the regional airports authority, Dulles and Reagan National airports continue to be owned by the federal government.
Opened in 1962, Dulles had its highest passenger count ever in 2025. The 13,859,735 enplanements for the year represented a 6.6% increase over 2024, the largest jump among the nation’s 50 largest airports.
Though substantial, the growth rate was slightly exaggerated, as United moved flights to Dulles from Newark-Liberty International Airport for a period in mid-2025 when the latter airport saw reduced capacity due to runway work.
