Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy slammed Washington Dulles Airport on Tuesday, saying it had fallen into a “state of disrepair,” which needs a complete refresh with new multi-million-dollar concourses and terminal buildings to restore it as a symbol of national pride.
So what exactly does the Trump administration have up its sleeves to transform Dulles Airport?
What the Trump administration says is wrong with Dulles Airport
The Department of Transportation (DOT) blindsided the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Tuesday when it launched its attack, saying the airport has
“fallen into a state of disrepair,” and that it was no longer “grand enough for the capital of the United States of America.”
Duffy reeled off a slew of issues with Dulles Airport, saying:
- Its facilities are dated.
- The airport’s AirTrain people movers are inefficient and sometimes deliver passengers more than half a mile away from their gate.
- The iconic main terminal does not have nearly enough gates.
- The infamous ‘moon-rover-like’ mobile lounges are no longer fit for purpose.
- Some of the concourses stink of jet fuel.
The history of one of the most iconic airports in the United States
When Dulles was commissioned in the late 1950s, the visionary designer Eero Saarinen was tasked with creating an airport of the future. Saarinen came up with a radical idea – rather than creating long piers and concourses, passengers would be delivered directly to the side of their plane aboard the airport’s now rapidly aging mobile lounges.
Saarinen’s main terminal building is still lauded as an iconic design, even by the Trump administration, but it has struggled to match the demand that Dulles now has to deal with.
Mobile lounges were once futuristic… they’ve become a major liability
The mobile lounge concept never caught on, but that hasn’t stopped Dulles still relying on these aging vehicles for international arrivals and some connecting passenger journeys.
They make for a slow arrival and connection experience, although it was a crash last month that sent 18 passengers to the hospital, which has really sealed their fate.
What the DOT is now doing to address IAD’s problems
On Tuesday, the DOT published a draft ‘Request for Information’ that will seek design options and public-private financing proposals to transform Dulles by adding new terminal buildings and concourses, as well as upgrading the airport’s other facilities.
Nothing is off the table: The DOT has suggested that Saarinen’s main terminal building could be replaced as part of the upgrade works, although the department says it will also accept proposals that retain some existing facilities, including the main terminal.
The DOT owns Dulles Airport, so it’s perfectly within its rights to start this process, while the airport authority operates Dulles under a long-term lease.
Duffy says he wants to hear from the “best and brightest developers, architects, and engineers” with their ideas to turn Dulles into a “symbol of the might and prestige of the United States.”
What does Dulles Airport have to say about this?
The airport authority said it appreciates the Trump administration’s interest in making improvements to Dulles, saying in a statement that it is looking forward to seeing the results of the DOT’s request for information.
“We always embrace new ideas for Dulles, which is the fastest-growing international gateway airport in America. We want to build on the existing $7 billion capital plan for Dulles, which is underway with a new concourse under construction and expected to open next fall.”
That new 435,000 square foot concourse, which has been in the works since 2023, will add 14 new gates to Dulles, with direct access from the AirTrain service.
The DOT, however, has blasted the current upgrade plans as “insufficient,” citing plans to retain the existing mobile lounge service for up to 20 years and at a cost of $160 million, as one reason why radical change is required.
How does this fit into President Trump’s agenda?
In August, President Trump signed an executive order called ‘Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,’ with the purpose of making federal public buildings that are uplifting and beautify public spaces.
Trump is particularly unhappy with the modernist and brutalist federal buildings that popped up across the United States in the 1960s, and says that efforts to improve the designs of public buildings have failed.
The Washington, DC, Trump demands that “classical architecture” be the default choice and only “exceptional factors” should warrant a different design choice.
The idea behind the executive order is to create buildings that “command public respect” and “convey to the general public the dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability of America’s system of self-government.”
Bottom line
The DOT has kicked off a process to potentially rebuild Washington Dulles Airport, which could even see Eero Saarinen’s iconic 1962 main terminal building bulldozed.
Once again, Trump is right.