Dulles International Airport

This article is about the airport. For the metro station, see Dulles International Airport station.

Washington Dulles International Airport
Dulles International Airport's main Saarinen terminal at dusk.
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerUnited States federal government
OperatorMetropolitan Washington Airports Authority
ServesWashington, D.C. metropolitan area
LocationDulles, Virginia, U.S.
OpenedNovember 17, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-11-17)
Hub for
Time zoneEST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST)EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL312 ft / 95 m
Coordinates38°56′40″N 077°27′21″W / 38.94444°N 77.45583°W / 38.94444; -77.45583
Websiteflydulles.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01L/19R 2,865 9,400 Concrete
01C/19C 3,505 11,500 Concrete
01R/19L 3,505 11,500 Concrete
12/30 3,201 10,501 Concrete
12R/30L 3,200 10,500 Planned
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations251,823
Total passengers25,135,288
Total cargo (tons)213,162
Source: Federal Aviation Administration,[2] Passenger traffic[3]

Washington Dulles International Airport (/ˈdʌlɪs/ DUL-iss) (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD, FAA LID: IAD) is an international airport in Loudoun County and Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, United States,[4] 26 miles (42 km) west of downtown Washington, D.C.[5]

The airport, which opened in 1962, is named after John Foster Dulles, an influential United States Secretary of State during the Cold War who briefly represented New York in the United States Senate.[6][7] The airport's main terminal is a well-known landmark designed by Eero Saarinen, who also designed the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Dulles occupies 13,000 acres (20.3 sq mi; 52.6 km2),[2][8] straddling the Loudoun–Fairfax line.[9] IAD ranks fifth in the US in terms of land area, after Denver International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, and Orlando International Airport. Most of the airport is in the unincorporated community of Dulles in Loudoun County, with a small portion in the unincorporated community of Chantilly in Fairfax County.

Along with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Dulles is one of three major airports serving the Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area. As of 2021, it is the second-busiest airport in the Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area behind Reagan National Airport and the 28th-busiest airport in the United States.[10] Dulles has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the Mid-Atlantic outside the New York metropolitan area, including approximately 90% of the international passenger traffic in the Baltimore–Washington region.[11] It had more than 20 million passenger enplanements every year from 2004 to 2019, with 24 million enplanements in 2019.[12][13] An average of 60,000 passengers pass through Dulles daily to and from more than 139 destinations around the world.[12][14][15]

Increased domestic travel from Reagan National Airport has eroded some of Dulles's domestic routes.[10] Dulles overtook Reagan in total enplanements in 2019.[16] In 2018, however, Dulles surpassed Reagan in yearly passenger boardings after having fewer passengers since 2015.[17] Furthermore, it still ranks behind BWI in total annual passenger boardings.[18]

Dulles is a hub for United Airlines and is frequently used by airlines that United has codeshare agreements with, mostly composed of Star Alliance members like Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa.

  1. ^ "Lancaster's Hometown Airline to Serve Washington-Dulles". Aviation Pros. April 19, 2021. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  2. ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for IAD PDF Effective October 31, 2024.
  3. ^ "Dulles Air Traffic Statistics". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. January 2024. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "Fairfax County Zoning Districts Map Created February 2013 Updated April 2020" (PDF). Fairfax County, Virginia. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
    "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Loudoun County, VA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 44 (45/65). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Dulles International Airport". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  6. ^ "JFK, Eisenhower dedicated airport". The Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 17, 1962. p. 1A. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "$110 million Dulles airport is dedicated". The Bulletin. (Oregon). UPI. November 17, 1962. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Washington-Dulles International Airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  9. ^ "Facts About Washington Dulles International Airport". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Aratani, Lori (November 27, 2014). "Dulles International Airport struggles to find its footing". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  11. ^ "U.S. International Air Passenger and Freight Statistics Report". Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on December 25, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) Air Traffic Statistics". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. 2014. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  13. ^ "Preliminary CY 2012 Enplanements" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  14. ^ "Air Service Maps – IAD". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  15. ^ "Dulles International - Nonstop Destinations". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  16. ^ "After years-long slump, Dulles International Airport bounces back". The Washington Post.
  17. ^ "Dulles International Airport pulled ahead of Reagan National in 2018". WTOP. February 20, 2019. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  18. ^ "MWAA Air Traffic Statistics" (PDF), Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, December 1, 2018, archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2019, retrieved August 16, 2019