News

People movers will continue darting across Dulles International Airport for years to come, despite recent incidents that have revived safety questions for passengers who use them.

At the Nov. 19 meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors, MWAA President and CEO Jack Potter acknowledged the “long-term limitations of relying on mobile lounges,” which are colloquially known as people movers.


News

Airlines at a growing Dulles International Airport will see higher operating costs in 2026 under a new budget adopted Nov. 19 by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).

The $889.5 million package, adopted unanimously by the authority’s board of directors, estimates that the “cost per enplanement” at Dulles will rise from the $11.17 budgeted in 2025 to $12.77 in 2026 — an increase of about 14%.


News

More than a dozen people have been taken to a hospital after a mobile lounge crashed while docking at Dulles International Airport.

The vehicle, also known as a people mover, was pulling into Concourse D around 4:30 p.m. today (Monday) when it “struck the dock at an angle,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) said.


Countywide

Northern Virginia’s two major airports are among the 40 directed by the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce flights, starting tomorrow (Friday), in response to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The FAA announced yesterday that it will reduce air traffic by 10% across “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers go unpaid and exhibit signs of strain during the shutdown, which has now stretched on for a record 37 days.


News

A 54-year-old man who admitted to punching a gate agent at Dulles Airport earlier this year will spend two months in federal prison.

Yesterday (Thursday), U.S. District Court Judge Michael Nachmanoff also ordered Christopher Stuart Crittenden to pay $15,000 in restitution and a $5,000 fine as part of his sentence.


News

Some existing mobile lounges at Dulles International Airport have been operating since John F. Kennedy was president in the mid-20th century, and with proper care, airport officials hope to keep them in service until almost the middle of the 21st century.

The iconic transportation equipment is a critical part of airport operations and “will remain essential for the next 15 to 20 years,” Thomas Beatty, chief operations officer for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), told the agency’s board of directors last Wednesday (Sept. 17).


News

With its opening just a year away, the first concessionaires have been announced for Dulles International Airport’s Concourse E.

The new food, beverage and retail stores “focus on brands that represent the regional D.C. experience,” said officials with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).


Around Town

Dulles Day is coming in for a landing this Saturday (Sept. 13).

The annual Special Olympics Virginia fundraiser will return to Dulles International Airport for a 34th year with a variety of activities, including the signature Dulles Plane Pull organized by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police Department.


News

The man convicted of assaulting a deaf passenger on an airplane bound for Dulles International Airport has been sentenced to prison.

Everett Chad Nelson, 44, was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday (Sept. 2) to two-and-a-half years behind bars, though he will receive credit for time served, court documents said.


News

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (WMAA) will receive nearly $7 million in federal funding to support taxiway reconstructions at Dulles International Airport.

The $6.8 million in funding represents the second-largest amount among 18 aviation-related projects approved statewide by the Federal Aviation Administration. Funding comes from a $25 billion appropriation in the 2021 Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act.


View More Stories