Dulles Airport to break ground on new concourse

By Audrey Carpenter

Dulles International Airport plans to build a new 14-gate concourse and is just weeks away from breaking ground, with plans to open in 2026.

Though the new concourse would be located the farthest from the main terminal, it would have an AeroTrain station below it, alleviating commute times. The AeroTrain is a 3.78-mile underground shuttle,
similar to the Metro system, and transports passengers between the Main Terminal building and Concourses A, B and C.

The trains run every two minutes, which makes it a popular and effective way to get passengers where
they need to be quickly, according to airport officials.

The 400,000-square-foot Tier-2 Concourse (East) will be above the current underground Concourse C/D
and will replace gates built in the 1990s which force passengers to go outdoors onto the tarmac to board planes, said Robert Yingling, spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

MWAA CEO Jack Potter said the new concourse represents the most significant upgrade at Dulles in many years and would be four times larger than the current footprint of Concourse A, which was built as a temporary structure but is now too small to meet demand.

The project is estimated to cost $675 million and MWAA has selected Bethesda-based Clark Construction as the contractor. The contract was awarded on Jan. 18. MWAA plans to pay for the new concourse through bonds and a new Federal Aviation Administration grant, made possible by the Infrastructure Act of 2021, that helps airports upgrade or replace aging facilities.

In addition to the 14 indoor gates, an airline lounge, concessions, restrooms and offices will be built along
with operational areas for servicing aircraft, handling baggage and other airport and airline functions, said
Yingling.

United Airlines, the largest carrier at Dulles, will determine how the gates are used and will accommodate
a wide range of planes, he said.

“The amount of growth in the region makes this project necessary,” Yingling said. “Annually, 25 million passengers travel through Dulles Airport.” With the opening of Metro’s Silver Line in November 2022
which includes a Dulles Airport stop, airport authorities anticipate airplane travel will continue to increase.