Dulles Airport

UPDATED: Pregnant asylum seeker who was detained at Dulles will return to Ghana

By Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury

Published May 29, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated May 29, 2026 at 6:01PM

Dulles Airport main terminal (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After 10 days spent detained at Dulles International Airport, Ghanaian asylum seeker Anabella Gyasi and her son will go back to her home country. A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Friday that the pregnant woman cannot stay in the airport any longer.

“For the reasons stated from the bench, the Court finds that the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately,” Judge Leonie M. Brinkema wrote after an emergency hearing the morning of May 29 in Alexandria.

News

Over 19M travelers expected at Northern Virginia’s main airports this summer

By Scott McCaffrey

Published May 26, 2026 at 8:30AM

A cherry blossom-decorated sign welcomes travelers to Dulles International Airport (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

As the summer travel season arrives, Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport both face “some big challenges as well as big opportunities,” according to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President and CEO Jack Potter.

The greatest challenge at the moment is the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has depressed traveler counts to that part of the world, Potter told MWAA’s board of directors at a May 20 meeting.

News

Dulles Airport lands $41M federal grant for Concourse E construction

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 20, 2026 at 9:15AM

Dulles International Airport Concourse E rendering (courtesy MWAA)

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.

News

Report: New plan to overhaul Dulles Airport would cost $22B, finish in 2034

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 12, 2026 at 12:15PM

Mobile lounges at Dulles International Airport with the main terminal building in the background (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Less than a year after adopting a new master plan for Dulles International Airport, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is considering an update that would expand the facility’s main terminal, redesign its concourses and eliminate the polarizing mobile lounges.

Shared with airlines earlier in May, the proposed revitalization plan would cost an estimated $22 billion with an ambitious targeted completion date of 2034, according to the Substack-based newsletter Airport Architecture, which says it obtained an exclusive copy of MWAA’s presentation.

News

Dulles Airport introduces new, nonstop flights to South Korea

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 30, 2026 at 3:45PM

Air Premia's first flight from Seoul to the D.C. region lands at Dulles International Airport (courtesy MWAA)

Travelers at Dulles International Airport have a new option for reaching South Korea.

The airport is now offering nonstop service to and from Seoul Incheon International Airport, courtesy of the Korean airline Air Premia.

Countywide

United Airlines testing security wait times tracker at Dulles, as DHS shutdown drags on

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published April 3, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated April 3, 2026 at 1:43PM

A security screening area at Dulles International Airport in April 2025 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

United Airlines is testing a digital tracker for airport security wait times after the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown snarled lines at major airports across the country.

Touting the tool as the “first of its kind” from a major U.S. airline, United added the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wait times tracker to its mobile app on Wednesday (April 1). It’s currently available for seven pilot locations, including Dulles International Airport.

News

Dulles Airport’s incoming Concourse E set for another major step forward

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 23, 2026 at 3:45PM

Interior construction work inside future Concourse E at Dulles International Airport (via MWAA)

Dulles International Airport is about to mark another milestone as the opening of its 14-gate Concourse E draws closer.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority expects to take possession of concessions facilities from Turner Construction Co. on March 30. On April 1, contractors for restaurants, retail outlets and other concessionaires will be able to start work on their spaces.

Countywide

Iran war has caused steep reduction in flights from Dulles to Middle East

By Scott McCaffrey

Published March 19, 2026 at 1:45PM

Emirates has reduced service to Dulles, including replacing A380 aircraft (above) with smaller 777s (courtesy Emirates)

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.

Countywide

International service helps propel Dulles to new passenger record in 2025

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 27, 2026 at 11:45AM

Ribbon-cutting at first Boliviana flight at Washington Dulles International Airport (via MWAA)

Ongoing growth in international travel helped propel Dulles International Airport to a record-setting year in 2025.

Officials with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will not have confirmed final passenger counts until late February or March, but the authority’s president and CEO, Jack Potter, said the expectation is for a 6% increase from the record year in 2024.

Countywide

Travelers rank Dulles Airport ‘very good,’ but slightly below National in 2025 report card

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 26, 2026 at 9:15AM

Dulles International Airport main terminal at sunrise (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials say they are generally pleased with results of 2025 customer-satisfaction data at its facilities.

“Customers like our airports,” Gene Sutch, MWAA’s director of revenue strategy and analysis, said last Wednesday (Jan. 21) in a briefing to the authority’s business administration committee.