President Trump announced a $22.5 billion, decade-long renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport this week, promising to finally retire the airport’s much-maligned “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have shuttled passengers between the main terminal and gates since the 1960s. The plan would replace the current C and D concourses, which officials described as outdated, while preserving the landmark Eero Saarinen-designed main terminal.
In place of the mobile lounges, renderings show four new concourses connected by an expanded AeroTrain and a central walking tunnel, along with additional moving walkways designed to speed passengers between gates. A separate pedestrian route would connect travelers directly to a new U.S. Customs facility, easing a long-standing bottleneck for international arrivals.
The project adds more than 5 million square feet of new or renovated space, including an above-ground parking garage with room for 32,000 vehicles closer to the main terminal. United Airlines, Dulles’s largest carrier, is set to get a new check-in area, a faster baggage system, and one of the largest United Polaris lounges in the airline’s network.
The airport will stay open throughout construction, which is planned in phases over roughly ten years. The $22.5 billion price tag won’t come from federal funds; instead, participating airlines, led by United, are expected to cover the cost alongside the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
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