Funding for Dulles International Airport’s new Concourse E is still coming together, even as construction inches closer to completion.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded $41.8 million in grant funding for the project, whose first phase will add 14 gates intended for United Airlines — the airport’s largest carrier — as well as a direct connection to the underground Aerotrain and various amenities.
“The Airports Authority is grateful for the grant, which will support the continued construction of Concourse E,” the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) said in a statement to FFXnow. “… The first phase of the concourse, with 14 gates, is on track to open this fall.”
The grant came from an Airport Terminal Program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (often referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) that then-President Joe Biden signed in November 2021.
For fiscal year 2026, the FAA program has awarded 133 grants totaling $970 million to airports in 45 different states, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Monday (May 18), highlighting projects at airports in Dallas, Boston, Tupelo, Mississippi, and Palm Beach, Florida, aimed at make the facilities “more family-friendly.”
In addition to the Dulles funding, the $73.6 million earmarked for Virginia airports includes $26 million to replace an aging air traffic control tower at Manassas and $5.8 million for a new, consolidated passenger screening checkpoint at Richmond International.
“We’re thrilled to announce more than $73 million in federal funding to improve the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of three Virginia airports,” Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner said. “The investments made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have been critical in improving passenger experience and bringing our Commonwealth’s and country’s airports into the 21st century.”
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose 10th Congressional District includes Clifton in Fairfax County as well as the Dulles and Manassas airport sites, said the funding for Manassas Regional Airport in particular will improve safety and boost the local economy.
The grant announcement came just a day before the FAA approved Manassas Regional Airport’s renaming to Washington Manassas Airport, a change intended to strengthen the Prince William County-based facility’s regional identity as it prepares to introduce commercial airline service in 2027.
“The funding for Dulles, along with the funding for Manassas, will continue to support our region’s status as an international aviation hub,” Subramanyam said.
Under construction since November 2023, Dulles Airport’s Concourse E is one piece of a recently updated master plan that outlines different facility renovations and expansions needed to accommodate future growth, which is projected to top 90 million annual passengers by the end of this century.
Adopted by MWAA’s board of directors last July, the plan anticipates starting implementation of a second phase of the Concourse E or Tier 2 project in 2028, expanding the 435,000-square-foot building with additional gates and federal security facilities to screen connecting passengers.
A third phase that would further expand capacity, add a western AeroTrain connection and demolish the existing Concourse C/D is slated for development sometime between 2036 and 2045.
A new proposal that MWAA reportedly presented to airlines earlier this month would accelerate the concourse’s full buildout, aiming for a December 2030 completion. MWAA, a regional entity created by Congress to manage Dulles and Reagan National airports, has declined to comment on the plan, deferring to the Trump administration, which has yet to make an official announcement.
The U.S. Department of Transportation solicited proposals from developers for potential terminal and concourse redesigns after President Donald Trump criticized Dulles Airport as “incorrectly designed” at a cabinet meeting in early December.
For now, the new Concourse E is expected to expand United’s international service while improving the passenger experience with updated seating areas and restrooms, 46,000 square feet of concessions space, a 40,000-square-foot United Club lounge, and a direct AeroTrain connection, giving travelers an alternative to the airport’s polarizing mobile lounges or people movers.
MWAA has budgeted about $900 million for the project’s first phase, according to an authority spokesperson. About $187.4 million of the costs are now being covered by federal grants, with the rest of the funding coming from sales of Municipal Airport System Revenue Bonds issued by MWAA to support capital projects.
