Economic headwinds and the Middle East military conflict are impacting the bottom line at Dulles International Airport.
Through July, the airport’s year-to-date passenger count of 16.3 million was down 2.6% from 2025 figures, according to new data reported by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
The domestic passenger count was down 2.4% to 10.4 million, with the international total dropping 3.1% to 5.9 million.
July’s passenger count of 2.8 million at Dulles was essentially flat, being off 0.2% from a year before, according to MWAA data.
The good news in July’s data? United Airlines, the dominant carrier at Dulles, remained strong for the month.
United carried 4% more domestic passengers and 3% more international travelers than a year before, according to the data. As a result, the carrier and its regional affiliates accounted for 66.3% of all passenger traffic during the month, up from 63.8% a year before.
Among other carriers, July’s results were mixed:
- In domestic travel, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines posted passenger increases, but Alaska Airlines saw declines due to reduced service levels.
- Internationally, KLM posted an increase but British Airways, Avianca, Air France and Qatar were down.
Because of its heavy concentration of international travel, Dulles has been impacted by Middle East tensions.
Dulles in 2025 saw an all-time record passenger count and recorded the highest growth rate among the nation’s major airports. But part of that increase was due to runway construction at Newark-Liberty International Airport, another United hub, which saw some of that airline’s flights moved to Dulles for its duration.
MWAA officials are aiming for an October opening of the new Concourse E at Dulles, which will service United flights and allow the carrier to continue expansion efforts.
On the horizon is a proposed $20-plus-billion expansion plan at the airport. The most recent update on plans was detailed at this month’s MWAA board of directors meeting.
At Reagan National Airport, also operated by MWAA, the 14.4 million year-to-date passenger count through July represented an increase of 0.2% from a year before. All but 300,000 of those passengers flew domestically. The only international flights from DCA are to and from Canada.
In July, the airport recorded 2.2 million passengers, a 0.8% year-over-year increase.
American Airlines saw a slight decline in passenger counts but remained the dominant carrier at National with a 52.1% market share.
At publication time, July passenger figures were not yet available for Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, operated by the Maryland Aviation Administration.
