Airport Opening Date:  Dedicated November 17, 1962 (copy of the program)

Official Airport Designator: IAD

Location: Dulles, Virginia

Terminal: Designed by architect Eero Saarinen.  Total cost of original Terminal: $108.3 million.

Land

Built on 10,000 acres situated in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, approximately 26 miles from downtown Washington, D.C. In 1999, an additional 1,000 acres were acquired. In 2005, an additional 830 acres were acquired.
Current land area: 11,184 acres (approximately 3,831 acres are used for aircraft operations)

Airport Facilities

Dulles Airport has 113 airline gates.

• Concourse A: 31 United Express Commuter gates + 12 mainline gates
• Concourse B: 32 mainline gates
• Concourse C: 22 United mainline gates
• Concourse D: 24 United mainline gates
• Concourse Z: 4 mainline gates
• Hard Stand Aircraft Locations: 16 "Remote Gate" positions on the South side of Dulles

Terminal

The Terminal was originally built as a compact two-level structure 600 feet long and 200 feet wide, from the design of world renowned architect Eero Saarinen.

The October 1, 1996, expansion of the Terminal was a prominent milestone in the Capital Development Program. The Terminal was expanded from 600 feet in length and 500,000 square feet to 1,240 feet in length with a total of 1.1 million square feet all in accordance with Eero Saarinen’s original design.

International Arrivals Building

The International Arrivals Building opened in 1991, and provides Federal Customs and Border Protection, Agriculture and Immigration Service. In 1998, the federal government opened a secured facility in Concourse C for international passengers connecting to domestic flights on United Airlines.

Concourses

Concourse C/D was completed in 1985 to serve as an interim facility and will eventually be replaced by a permanent facility. The concourse is 550,000 square feet and has 47 airline gates.

Regional Concourse A opened on May 2, 1999 with more than 110,000 square feet to serve 36 regional aircraft positions.

Concourse B opened on February 1, 1998 and was expanded in 2003 to 27 gates and 540,000 square feet. A 15-gate extension at the West End of the concourse opened January 15, 2008.  This increased the length of the 42-gate concourse to 2,810 feet and the area to 800,000 square feet.

The Z Gates opened on August 1, 2005 as a new part of the Terminal. This is a permanent 20,800-square-foot facility built with 5 airline gates, currently deployed in a 4-gate configuration.

Passenger Conveyance

The AeroTrain system opened to passengers on January 26, 2010. Read more about the construction of this system.

The airport also maintains a fleet of 19 Mobile Lounges and 30 Plane Mates, which offer a unique service transporting passengers between the Terminal and Concourses A and D.

The Mobile Lounge was designed by the Chrysler Corporation in association with the Budd Company. It is a 54-foot long, 16-foot wide, 17 1/2-foot high vehicle, weighing 76,500 pounds. A Mobile Lounge can carry 102 passengers- 71 of them seated- directly from the Terminal to the aircraft on the ramp. When the Airport opened in 1962, passengers had to walk only 200 feet once they entered the Terminal until they were seated in the Mobile Lounge for the short trip directly to their aircraft, a unique service offered only at Dulles.

The Plane Mates are 15 feet high, 15 feet wide, 54 feet long and weigh 79,300 pounds. Similar to Mobile Lounges, Plane Mates were designed so that passengers could board directly from the Plane Mate onto the aircraft, avoiding walking on the airfield.

In 2004, a new passenger walkway opened between the Terminal and Concourse B. This 1,000-foot walkway has moving sidewalks in both directions, allowing passengers an alternative route to access airline gates at Concourse B.

Runways

There are four runways at Dulles

• 1L/19R 9,400 feet long and began service November 20, 2008.
• 1C/19C 11,500 feet long and began service when Dulles opened in 1962.
• 1R/19L 11,500 feet long and began service when Dulles opened in 1962.
• 12/30 10,500 feet long and began service when Dulles opened in 1962.

A fifth runway, which will run parallel to runway 12/30, has not been scheduled for construction yet.

Parking

Public parking is available for more than 24,000 vehicles. There are three parking options available in the lot in front of the Terminal Building; Valet, Hourly, and Daily. Also, passengers may choose from two garages or economy parking lots. The following forms of payment are accepted: cash, American Express, MasterCard and Visa.

Roadway Network

There are 198 lane miles of roads on the airport property.

The 16-mile Dulles Airport Access Road provides two dedicated lanes in each direction and a direct connection to Interstate Route I-66 and the Capital Beltway.

Cargo

There are seven cargo buildings on the airport property with a total of over 540,000 square feet of operational space.

Concessions

The array of shopping and dining opportunities offered at Washington Dulles includes nearly 100 privately-owned and operated food and retail shops located throughout the airport. Many nationally and internationally recognized brands operate at Dulles. Concourse B is the centerpiece of the retail program, featuring 13,000 square feet of retail space. In all, the retail and restaurant program occupies more than 50,000 square feet at the airport.  An airport-wide Redevelopment Program began in 2013 to address the changing needs of the traveling public. 

View the Shopping and Dining Guide.

General Aviation

Signature Flight Support and Jet Aviation serve as the Fixed Base Operators for the general aviation community.

Signature has a 67,000 square foot facility on the east side of the Airport.

Jet Aviation has an 84,000 square foot facility north of the Terminal on the west side of the Airport property.

Operations and Statistics

View the latest reports and chart of Dulles passenger and operations statistics.

Air Service

View maps showing destinations served from Washington Dulles International Airport. 

Airlines
View a list of airlines serving Washington Dulles International Airport.

View a list of air cargo carriers at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Construction Program

A multi-billion dollar construction program began in 2000 to meet future passenger demand.  Major projects included two new parking garages, a fourth runway, a new concourse, a new Air Traffic Control tower, pedestrian walkways and an airport train system. This project was called the Dulles Development program, or D2. More information can be found at the D2 program website.

Economic Impact

View our 2012 Regional Economic Impact study