Big changes are underway at Dulles International Airport (IAD) outside Washington, DC. This week, the airport’s governing body unveiled design drawings for a new 14-gate concourse that will be a major part of United Airlines’ operations at the airport in the coming years.
The new 400,000-square-foot Terminal “E” will essentially parallel part of Dulles’ C/D concourse building, where the majority of United’s hub operations are concentrated today.
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However, it is important to note that this new facility will not actually do that to replace the C/D hall, although that facility needs to be replaced.
In effect, this new midfield terminal building will simply replace the ground-level A-concourse gates currently used by United – often for flights operated by regional airlines flying under United Express.
This project also won’t spell the complete end of Dulles’ infamous mobile lounges, or “people movers” — although it will help reduce usage, according to leaders of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Either way, it appears to be a significant improvement for passengers flying out of Dulles or connecting there on a US route.
First look: the brand new Capital One Lounge in Washington Dulles
New Dulles Hall Design
Designers for the new three-story terminal sought to integrate images from the Washington metropolitan area, utilize greenery and natural light – and draw inspiration from Eero Saarinen, the famed architect responsible for the airport’s iconic main terminal building ( not to mention the former TWA terminal, now the TWA Hotel, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport).
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As seen in the renderings unveiled this week, passengers arriving at the concourse will notice a large wall of greenery, with sunlight streaming in through huge windows.
That’s after you arrive at the concourse via the AeroTrain system, where this new facility goes shall connect.
As you ride the escalators to the main concourse level, you’ll see a mural of cherry blossoms surrounding Washington’s Tidal Basin, flanked by restaurants on both sides.
The designs make it clear that there are plans for a new United Club in Dulles as part of this expansion.
Because United is expected to be the primary airline operating out of this building, the design renderings require extensive airline signage and logos.
All in all, it’s certainly a much better-lit, airier and more spacious facility than the concourses United currently occupies in Dulles.
Of the 14 new gates that Dulles’ new concourse will support, seven would have the ability to accommodate widebody aircraft – and each of those gates could also be configured to accommodate passengers arriving on international flights.
If you’re flying out of Dulles in the coming months, you probably won’t notice many changes at this terminal location; construction crews are just starting to work on the foundation. But passengers should notice in a year that the building is “really coming out of the ground,” MWAA leaders said at a public meeting Wednesday.
The new E-hal is expected to be operational in 2026, a spokesperson told TPG on Wednesday.
Bigger plans at Dulles
This new hall is just one facet of the important changes planned at Dulles in the coming years.
The airport welcomed a record 9.3 million international passengers in 2023, with further growth expected in the coming years.
“We don’t have enough gates at Dulles,” MWAA CEO Jack Potter said at Wednesday’s meeting. “We’re talking about United Airlines growing 50% in the not-too-distant future. So as these new facilities come online, passengers will come with them.”
The longer-term vision for the airport calls for a total replacement of United’s C/D concourse, which has long been needed.
So far, there are no formal plans or designs for such a facility, an MWAA spokesperson told TPG.
A new lease agreement with airlines (particularly United) could lay the groundwork for such a project to move forward. Those talks are expected this year after airport leaders approved a new 15-year operating agreement for Dulles and the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Wednesday.
Airport leaders also noted Wednesday that the opening of United’s new E concourse could pave the way for the demolition of the aging regional A gates that the new concourse will replace — perhaps setting the stage for a future expansion of the more modern A hall used by a host. of international airlines.
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