Washington Dulles International Airport

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Coordinates: 38°56′40″N 077°27′21″W / 38.94444, -77.45583

Washington Dulles International Airport


Dulles Airport Terminal
IATA: IAD – ICAO: KIAD – FAA: IAD
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Serves Washington Metropolitan Area
Location Dulles, Virginia
Elevation AMSL 313 ft / 95 m
Website www.mwaa.com/dulles/
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
1C/19C 11,500 3,505 Concrete
1R/19L 11,500 3,505 Concrete
12/30 10,500 3,200 Concrete
1L/19R 9,400 2,865 Opens 2008
12R/30L 10,500 3,200 Planned
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]
FAA Airport Diagram
FAA Airport Diagram

Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD, FAA LID: IAD) is a public airport located 25 miles (40 km) west of the central business district of Washington, D.C., in Dulles, Virginia[2] (Loudoun County and Fairfax County, Virginia, United States).[1] It serves the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The airport is named after John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State under Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is a major hub for United Airlines and a focus city for JetBlue Airways.

United Airlines/United Express is by far the largest airline at the airport carrying 61.5% of passengers, JetBlue is the second largest airline carrying 6.4% of passengers, and American Airlines/American Connection is the third largest airline carrying 4.1% of the passengers in 2007 [1].

On a typical day, 1,800 to 2,000 flights are now handled at Dulles, up from 1000 to 1200 in 2003. It remains the second busiest trans-Atlantic gateway on the Eastern Seaboard. The inception of low-cost carrier Independence Air in 2004 propelled IAD from being the 24th busiest airport in the United States to 15th, and one of the top 30 busiest in the world. At its peak of 600 flights daily, Independence, combined with service from JetBlue and AirTran, briefly made Dulles the largest low-cost hub in the United States. Southwest Airlines began service in fall 2006 after Independence Air's demise. The airport no longer ranks as one of the world's 30 busiest in terms of number of passengers; it ranked 29th in 2006 in traffic movements. In 2007, Dulles saw 24.7 million passengers through the airport.[3]

The airport occupies approximately 11,000 acres (45 km²) of land, straddling the border of Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Virginia. It is located within two unincorporated communities, including partly in Chantilly and partly in Dulles. The airport is west of Herndon and southwest of Sterling. In 1958, the former unincorporated community of Willard was torn down to make room for Dulles, and countless roads, homes, stores, and schools were demolished to make room for runways, concourses and other features of the new airport. Dulles Airport is operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).

Contents

[edit] History and background

At the end of World War II, growth in aviation and in the Washington metropolitan area led Congress to pass the Washington Airport Act of 1950, providing federal backing for a second airport. After preliminary proposals failed, including one to establish an international airport at what is now Burke Lake Park, the current site was selected by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958. As a result of the selection, the crossroads of Willard was removed, along with hundreds of farm buildings, stores, churches, and homes.

The civil engineering firm Ammann and Whitney was named lead contractor. The airport was dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on November 17, 1962. The original name was Dulles International Airport which was changed in 1984 to Washington Dulles International Airport.[4] The main terminal was designed in 1958 by famed Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and it is highly regarded for its graceful beauty, suggestive of flight. In fact, the original terminal at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan was modeled after the Saarinen terminal at Dulles. Dulles was the first airport in the world specifically designed for jet aircraft, and many of its architectural features were experimental at the time. Mobile lounges that brought passengers directly from aircraft to the terminal were supposed to be the wave of the future, but this innovation was not widely duplicated throughout the world at later airports; the airport authority plans to retire the mobile lounge system altogether in favor of an underground people mover and pedestrian walkway system (now in service to concourse B), as part of a major engineering program that will also add a concourse to the main terminal and give the airport a fourth runway. Some of the other innovations, such as the midfield terminal and extra-long runways, were designed with a future role as a spaceport in mind.

Although designed for jet planes, the first flight was an Eastern Air Lines Super Electra turboprop, arriving from Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Initially considered to be a white elephant due to its limited flight destinations in the 1960s and its 26-mile distance from downtown Washington, Dulles has steadily grown at the same time that suburbs of the city grew along the Dulles Technology Corridor and the Capital Beltway. Restrictions placed on the type of aircraft at and distance of routes from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport have meant most long-distance flights to the area must fly to Dulles or Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland.

The era of jumbo jets in international aviation began on January 15, 1970, when First Lady Pat Nixon christened a Pan Am Boeing 747 at Dulles in the presence of Pan Am chairman Najeeb Halaby. Red, white, and blue water was sprayed on the aircraft, rather than breaking a bottle of champagne. The first Boeing 747 flight on Pan Am from Dulles was to London Heathrow.

Another milestone in aviation took place on May 24, 1976, when supersonic air travel commenced between Dulles and Europe. On that day, a British Airways Concorde flew in from London and an Air France Concorde arrived from Paris. The sleek aircraft lined up at Dulles nose-to-nose for a photo opportunity.

On June 13, 1983, the Space Shuttle Enterprise 'landed' at Dulles atop a modified Boeing 747 after a completing a European tour and prior to returning to Edwards AFB. In 1985, the Enterprise was placed in a storage hangar near Runway 12/30 pending the construction of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

During the 1980s a U.S. Senate resolution to change the name of Washington-Dulles to Washington-Eisenhower was defeated, largely due to efforts of the Dulles family and the growing awareness of the huge expense that would be needed to change traffic signs for airport-bound vehicles.[citation needed]

When the SR-71 was retired by the military in 1990, one was flown from its birthplace at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale to Dulles where it was placed in a special storage building pending the construction of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, setting a coast-to-coast speed record at an average 2,124 mph (3,418 km/h). The entire trip took 64 minutes.[2]

The inaugural flight of the Boeing 777 in commercial service, a United Airlines flight from London Heathrow, landed at Dulles in 1995.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

In December 2003, the National Air and Space Museum opened at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles. The museum annex houses an Air France Concorde, the Enola Gay B-29, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the Boeing 367-80, which was the prototype of the Boeing 707, and other famous aerospace artifacts, particularly those too large for the main building on the National Mall.

Beginning April 19, 2006, United Express moved its operations from Concourse G to Concourse A, which was formerly used by the now-defunct Independence Air which ceased operations on January 6, 2006. The transition was completed on May 1, 2006. [3]

[edit] Dulles Development (D2)

A photo of Dulles International, with several cranes visible, working on the D2 Project
A photo of Dulles International, with several cranes visible, working on the D2 Project
Construction of Aerotrain Station under the Main Terminal
Construction of Aerotrain Station under the Main Terminal

As Dulles expanded in the 1980s and 1990s, operations outgrew the main terminal and new midfield concourses were constructed, using mobile lounges to bring passengers to the main terminal. An underground tunnel consisting of a passenger walkway and moving sidewalks was opened in 2004 which links the main terminal and concourse B. MWAA started a renovation program for the airport, to include a new security mezzanine to help relieve the heavily congested security lines that are familiar to passengers traveling through the airport. There is also going to be a new Train System, dubbed "AeroTrain" (which runs on wheels instead of conventional train tracks), which is currently being developed by Mitsubishi. The idea is to have the train replace the mobile lounges that many passengers find crowded and congested. Dulles claims that passengers will never have to wait for a train for more than two minutes, versus the average 15 minute wait and travel time for mobile lounges today. The train system in Phase One will include a main terminal station, a permanent Concourse B station, a temporary access to the also temporary C&D concourses, and a maintenance facility. In the future, final phase development would see the addition of several new midfield concourses and a new south terminal. Also, under the development plan, two new runways are being constructed to "Aid in our increasing demand for aircraft traffic" (MWAA 2005) and an expansion of the B Concourse used by many low cost airlines as well as international arrivals. The "Midfield Concourses" (Concourse C&D) house United and American Airlines mainly and will be knocked down for a more ergonomic building to be built later.

[edit] Terminals

The signature Dulles main terminal houses ticketing, baggage claim, US Customs and Border Protection, the Z gates, and other support facilities. From here passengers can take mobile lounges to their concourses, "plane mates" directly to their airplanes, or take the passenger walkway to concourse B. The plane mates are also used to transport passengers arriving on international flights directly to the US Customs and Border Protection inspection center located in the main terminal.

[edit] Mobile lounges

A mobile lounge loading passengers
A mobile lounge loading passengers

Dulles is one of the few remaining airports to use the mobile lounge system for boarding and disembarkation from aircraft. The "lounge" consists of a 54-by-16-foot carriage mounted on a scissor truck, capable of carrying 102 passengers. They were designed by the Chrysler Corporation in association with the Budd Company. The conveyances are sometimes nicknamed "moon buggies" for the similar appearance of their tires with those of the Lunar Rover.

The "Plane Mate" is an evolutionary variation on the concept. They are similar in appearance to mobile lounges, but can raise themselves on screws to "mate" directly with an aircraft. This allows passengers to deplane directly aboard and be carried to the main terminal. They are easily identified by the different window configuration and two short columns on the roof with red beacons mounted on the top.

By shuttling from the main terminal directly to a midfield jet ramp, passengers could avoid long walking distances amidst weather, noise, and fumes on the ramp. But the advent of the Jetway and construction of the midfield concourses diluted the system's advantages.

Today, the airport uses 19 mobile lounges to transfer passengers between the midfield concourses and to and from the main terminal building, as well as 30 plane mates. They have all been given names based on the postal abbreviations of 50 states, e.g.: VA, MD, AK, etc. The MWAA plans to retire the mobile lounge system altogether in favor of an underground people mover and pedestrian walkway system (now in service to concourse B), as part of a major engineering program that will also add a concourse to the main terminal and give the airport a fourth runway. This construction is taking place under the D2 Dulles Development program, in which 15 additional gates have been added to Concourse B, as well as a 315 foot tall control tower built one mile south of the original ATC tower. In addition, a new Concourse C/D will be constructed, and plans for an additional fifth runway are underway.

[edit] Main terminal

The terminal ceiling is suspended in a catenary curve above the luggage check-in area.
The terminal ceiling is suspended in a catenary curve above the luggage check-in area.

The main terminal was recognized by the American Institute of Architects in 1966 for its design concept; its roof is a suspended catenary providing a wide enclosed area unimpeded by any columns. It houses ticketing, baggage claim, and information facilities, as well as the International Arrivals Building for passenger processing.

Although the original design is still intact, the increase in low-cost carriers and increased security requirements have caused functional problems, with long lines at security checkpoints and crowded conditions in the once-more than adequate ticketing area occurring during peak periods. During busy travels seasons, the checkpoint line can wrap around the entire ticketing area. In these instances, getting from the end of the line to the front can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. Separate security screening lines for "Premium Passengers" allow First Class, Business Class and elite passengers to move through security faster, however.

There are two sets of gates in the main terminal. They are waiting areas for airlines which lack permanent physical gates and therefore use Plane Mates. There are also the recently-opened "Z" Gates, which provide service for US Airways.

Destinations with direct service from Dulles
Destinations with direct service from Dulles

[edit] "H" Gates

[edit] "Z" Gates

[edit] Midfield terminals

There are two midfield terminal buildings: One contains the A and B Midfield Concourses, another the C and D Midfield Concourses. The C and D Concourses, completed in 1983, were designed to be a temporary home for United Airlines, which began hub operations at the airport in 1995 (after a controversial pull-out of its hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport). Their replacements are under development. The G Concourse, built as a temporary location for United Express flights, has been demolished. The A and B Concourses are the first of the permanent Midfield Concourses.

[edit] Midfield Concourse A

  • United Airlines
    • United Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Boston, Buffalo, Columbus (OH), Greensboro, Harrisburg, Indianapolis, Manchester (NH), Montreál, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Rochester (NY), Toronto-Pearson)
    • United Express operated by Colgan Air (Allentown/Bethlehem, Altoona, Beckley, Binghamton, Bradford, Charleston (WV), Charlottesville, Clarksburg, Jamestown (NY), Johnstown, Morgantown, Parkersburg, Shenandoah Valley, State College (PA), White Plains, Williamstown)
    • United Express operated by GoJet Airlines (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Jacksonville (FL), Kansas City, Portland (ME), San Antonio, Syracuse, West Palm Beach)
    • United Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham (AL), Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbia (SC), Detroit, Greensboro, Greenville/Spartanburg, Hartford/Springfield, Huntsville, Jacksonville (FL), Kansas City, Manchester (NH), Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland (ME), Raleigh/Durham, Rochester (NY), Savannah, Springfield (IL) [ends July 3])
    • United Express operated by Trans States Airlines (Albany, Burlington (VT), Dayton, Harrisburg, Hartford/Springfield, Knoxville, Little Rock, Manchester (NH), Newark, New Orleans, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Philadelphia, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Roanoke, St. Louis, Syracuse)

[edit] Midfield Concourse B

Inside Concourse B
Inside Concourse B

[edit] Midfield Concourse C

Inside Concourse C
Inside Concourse C
  • Air Canada
  • United Airlines (Albuquerque, Amsterdam, Aruba, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Dubai [begins October 26][6], Fort Myers, Frankfurt, Hartford/Springfield, Kuwait City, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Moscow-Domodedovo [begins October 26][6], Munich, Nassau, New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Rome-Fiumicino, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), São Paulo-Guarulhos, Seattle/Tacoma, Singapore, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Tokyo-Narita, Tucson [seasonal], Vancouver, Zurich)
    • Ted operated by United Airlines (Cancún, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Juan, Tampa) [Ted's Fleet will Merge into United's by the End of 2009, thus merging all Ted Flights under the United Brand]
    • United Express operated by Shuttle America (Albany (NY), Atlanta, Austin, Buffalo, Dallas/Fort Worth, Halifax, Hartford/Springfield, Houston-Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Montréal, New Orleans [seasonal], Norfolk, Raleigh/Durham, Rochester (NY), Toronto-Pearson)

[edit] Midfield Concourse D

A mirrored display greets travelers at the entrance to Concourse D
A mirrored display greets travelers at the entrance to Concourse D

[edit] Airline lounges

Star Alliance members without a lounge offer access to the United Red Carpet Club lounges, while other airlines who do not operate a lounge of their own offer access to lounges of partner airlines.

[edit] Transportation to and from the airport

Dulles is accessible via the Dulles Access Road (State Route 267) or State Route 28. As of 2007, the only Washington Metro service to Dulles is the "express" 5A Metrobus route. The 5A express bus makes two to three stops on its way from the airport to downtown Washington, depending on the time of day: stops include the Herndon-Monroe transfer station in Herndon, VA and the Rosslyn Metro Station in Arlington, VA. The Rosslyn Metro Station can be accessed by the Orange/Blue lines. The # 950 Fairfax Connector bus brings passengers from Reston, VA to the Herndon-Monroe transfer station, where they can switch to the 5A bus to the airport. The RIBS 2 Fairfax Connector bus will also connect Reston passengers to the Herndon-Monroe transfer point. A more expensive alternative method to reach Dulles is the Washington Flyer Coach bus service that operates roughly every thirty minutes between the airport and the West Falls Church Metro Station. Passengers connecting to the Shenandoah Valley can use the Shenandoah Valley Commuter Bus with connections to Vienna Metro Station and Rosslyn Metro Station.

Pending final approval and construction, the airport is proposed to be connected to Washington via MetroRail's Silver Line.

[edit] Accidents and incidents

Control Tower view of IAD.
Control Tower view of IAD.

On December 1, 1974, a flight diverted to Dulles, TWA Flight 514, crashed into Mount Weather.

On June 18, 1994, a Learjet 25 operated by Mexican carrier TAESA crashed in trees while approaching the airport from the south. Twelve people died. The passengers were planning to attend the 1994 FIFA World Cup soccer games being staged in Washington, D.C.

A flight from Dulles, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

[edit] Dulles in fiction

Dulles Airport has been the backdrop for many Washington based movies, starting shortly after the airport opened with the 1964 film Seven Days in May.

The action movie Die Hard 2: Die Harder is set primarily at Dulles Airport. The plot of the film involves the takeover of the airport's tower and communication systems by terrorists, led by Colonel Stuart (William Sadler), who subsequently uses the equipment to prevent airlines from landing, demonstrating the consequences by fooling one jet into crashing onto a runway. It is up to NYPD cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) to stop them from downing more planes, one of which has his wife aboard. The film was not shot at Dulles; the stand-ins were Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver. An often-noted inconsistency is the existence of Pacific Bell pay phones in the main terminal (the telephone company that served Dulles at the time was GTE and the nearest PacBell territory was thousands of miles away).

Part of the thriller The Package (starring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones) took place at Dulles. However, the Dulles stand-in this time was Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Dulles Airport's Terminal exterior
Dulles Airport's Terminal exterior

Portions of all three sequels to the disaster film Airport were filmed at Dulles: Airport 1975, with Charlton Heston, Karen Black and George Kennedy; Airport '77, with Jack Lemmon, Christopher Lee and George Kennedy; and The Concorde: Airport '79.

The Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October features Dulles in some parts such as when the survivors of the Red October are flown back to Russia and when Jack Ryan, the main character, flies back to his home.

Dulles has also served as a stand-in for a New York City-area airport, in the 1999 comedy, Forces of Nature. While set in a New York airport, the main terminal is recognizable.

Numerous episodes of the TV show The X-Files show action taking place in Dulles Airport.[specify]

Dulles Airport appeared in the episode Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington of the cartoon The Simpsons when the family wins a trip to Washington D.C..

Bayview Airport in the video game Need For Speed: Underground 2 is a copy of the main terminal of Dulles Airport.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b FAA Airport Master Record for IAD (Form 5010 PDF)
  2. ^ Dulles International Airport. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
  3. ^ Coombs, Joe (February 7, 2008). Passenger numbers up at Dulles International, Reagan National airports. Washington Business Journal. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  4. ^ History of Washington Dulles International Airport. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
  5. ^ Shen, Irene (September 11, 2007). Bloomberg.com: Canada Air China to Add Flights to Toronto, Rome, 10 Cities (Update2). Bloomberg.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  6. ^ a b United Airlines Announces Plans to Launch Nonstop Service to Dubai and Moscow

[edit] External links