Countywide

Construction is moving along on United Airlines’ new concourse at Dulles International Airport, a 14-gate expansion that officials say will usher in a “new era of growth” for the D.C. region’s largest airline.

Expected to open in late 2026, the 435,000-square-foot Concourse E will directly connect to the airport’s underground Aerotrain station, add capacity for international flights and offer new amenities, including retail, concessions and a 40,000-square-foot United Club for the airline’s members.


Countywide

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) expects performance at Dulles International Airport to have a solid tailwind throughout 2025.

The authority’s calendar-year-2025 budget projects 13.7 million passenger enplanements at the airport in the coming year. If it transpires, passenger counts for 2025 would rise slightly from updated 2024 projections and be up 10.5% from 2019, the last year before arrival of Covid sent air travel into a tailspin.


Countywide

The upcoming Labor Day weekend is anticipated to be a busy one for travel, including at Dulles International Airport.

United Airlines, the airport’s biggest carrier, says it will average more than 240 nonstop flights per day to and from Dulles over the holiday weekend, starting today (Thursday) through Monday (Sept. 3). The number of departing flights will be up 10% compared to last year’s Labor Day weekend.


Countywide

Health officials are cautioning the public about a possible measles exposure in Northern Virginia.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, someone who traveled through Northern Virginia from abroad was confirmed to have measles.


News

A proposal to add long-distance flights at Reagan National Airport has officially failed, to the relief of area representatives who feared it would undermine Dulles International Airport.

The House of Representatives rejected the proposal — which was included in a package of changes to the Federal Aviation Administration’s policies that passed overall — by a 229-205 vote on Wednesday (July 19).


Countywide

Issues with a communications system in Warrenton resulted in a temporary suspension of most flights coming into the D.C. area, including at Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a “ground stop” shortly after 6 p.m., pausing departures to the D.C. area so that repairs could be made to a communications system at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Warrenton.


News

More local legislators are pushing back against a federal proposal to allow more long-distance flights at National Airport (DCA).

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday (Tuesday) to oppose the push to increase the number of flights that travel beyond 1,250 miles from the airport in Arlington.


News

A proposal for more long-distance flights at Reagan National Airport (DCA) is catching the ire of some of Virginia’s Congressional representatives, who say it could undermine efforts to grow Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Proponents led by Capital Access Alliance argue that current restrictions at Reagan National — an airport owned by the federal government — are outdated and hurt the economy. They want to increase the number of flights that travel beyond 1,250 miles from the airport, allowing as many as 25 daily round trips.


Countywide

It’s been a turbulent couple of years for air travel.

For more than a year, face masks have been a required accessory for flyers due to COVID-19. That ended Monday (April 18) when a federal court ruled against the Biden administration’s mask mandate for public transportation.