Washington Dulles International Airport

Understand

Dulles is 26 miles west of DC in Sterling, Virginia. It is the primary international and long-haul gateway to the region. Opened in 1962 to relieve Washington National Airport (now Reagan National), it soon became an enduring mark in the nation's architecture.

The main terminal, designed by Eero Saarinen, is an architectural masterpiece, with a curved roof that arcs gracefully into air, suspended over a huge open ticketing and check-in area. At one point, this was the only building at the airport, and instead of the usual affair of the time where passengers walked to their plane on the tarmac, special shuttles known as "mobile lounges" and "plane mates" were used to ferry passengers between the terminal and their planes.

Unfortunately the layout hasn't responded well to the changed needs of modern air travel. In order to accommodate larger jets and more aerobridges, two satellite buildings were built over time. The layout includes lengthy corridors and long escalators and you will have to take a train between the main building and the concourses - expect that you will need some extra time to get to the gate. Many carriers serve the airport, which serves as an East Coast hub for United Airlines and a major gateway for Star Alliance airlines.

Now, the main terminal primarily houses ticket counters, baggage claim, and security screening, with only a handful of passenger gates, while the vast majority of flights arrive and depart from the two midfield terminals accessed by train, walkway, or mobile lounge.

• Detailed map of terminal and concourses
• Interactive map

Security

There are two entrances to the screening area, the West and East Security Checkpoints.

TSA PreCheck and the private service CLEAR have set up their checkpoints for departing passengers in between the two general checkpoints.

Get around

Departure gates are split between the H and Z gates in the main terminal, one midfield terminal containing Concourses A and B, and a second midfield terminal containing Concourses C and D. It is possible to walk the length of each midfield terminal building end-to-end (i.e., there are no barriers between A and B or between C and D), and there is an underground pedestrian walkway connects the main terminal to the A/B midfield terminal.

The main way of traveling through the airport is the AeroTrain, a people mover that goes through Concourses C, A, the main terminal (near H and Z after security) and B and back; the AeroTrain does not connect to Concourse D. Trains arrive and depart every two minutes. Note that the station for Concourse C is situated a few hundred feet from its AeroTrain station, and travelers may wish to factor in additional time for this walk.

"Mobile lounge" shuttles connect the main terminal, Concourse A, and Concourse D.

Eat and drink

Flights

• Concourse A
• International Departures: Air China, Air France, British Airways, Copa, Emirates, Ethiopian
• Etihad Airways (all flights, due to preclearance)
• Concourse B
• International Departures: Air India, ANA, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, South African, Turkish Airlines, WestJet
• Aer Lingus (all flights, due to preclearance)
• Concourse C
• United and United Express only, as well as processing for some international Star Alliance passengers who are connecting to another flight. Passengers whose final destination is Washington will be processed in the International Arrivals Building.
• Concourse D
• United and United Express only
• Concourse H
• Waiting area for airlines with only plane mates
• Concourse Z (main terminal)
• Air Canada (all flights due to preclearance), Frontier
• International Arrivals Building (IAB)
• Gate for almost all international flights arriving at Dulles, with the exception of pre-clearance flights and passengers for some Star Alliance flights who are connecting to another flight. This building uses plane mates to take passengers from the plane to the building for processing.

Departure

Each airline has a specific location for their check-in counters:

• Ticket Counter 1
• Allegiant, Aer Lingus, Aeromexico, Air China, Air India, Avelo, British Airways, Delta, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, Etihad Airways, Play, Primera, Porter, Southwest, Volaris
• Ticket Counter 2
• Air France, American, Brussels, Copa, Emirates, KLM, Korean Air, Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, Saudia, Virgin Atlantic
• Ticket Counter 3
• Air Canada, Alaska, ANA, Austrian, Avianca, Frontier, Icelandair, Lufthansa, SAS, South African, Turkish
• Ticket Counter 4
• United and United Express only

The ticket counter numbers are designated by the order you pass them as you drive into the airport complex. For example, Counter 2 would be the second counter complex passed. This also means that the counter numbers are ordered in a west to east fashion (ex. 1 is the westernmost counter and 4 is the easternmost). Entering the airport means that you are facing a southerly direction, so keep that in mind when looking for your counter.

The airport has drop off zones at each counter, so you can stop at the zone corresponding to the number of your counter.

Arrival

Some airlines have specific baggage claims for arriving passengers:

• Claims 1-5 - United
• Claims 6 - United, Aer Lingus
• Claim 7 - Frontier
• Claim 8 - special claim for oversized baggage
• Claim 10 - jetBlue
• Claims 11-12 - American, Etihad
• Claims 13-14 - Delta, Southwest
• Claim 15 - All international arrivals except for preclearance flights

There is no Claim 9.

Ground transportation

Public transit

• WMATA Silver Line opened its extension to the airport in November 2022, so there is now a single-seat metro ride in to Washington, D.C. A trip to downtown Washington, D.C. is about 50 minutes, and costs $6.75. Discounted fare of $2.50 applies after 9:30pm weekdays, and anytime on weekends. Pay either by tapping a contactless credit/debit card, or get a (physical or mobile) Smart Trip card.
• Fairfax Connector Bus 983 to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center. The bus departs from the airport every 20 minutes daily, costing $2.25 and taking 12 minutes to reach the museum. Pay either with exact change or a physical/mobile Smart Trip card.
• Virginia Breeze (selling tickets via Megabus) has multiple routes connecting different parts of Virginia with Washington, D.C., some of which stop at Dulles.
• The nearest Amtrak stations are in Manassas (18 mi), Burke, and Alexandria; all of these (and a few more stations) have VRE commuter rail service as well. None of these stations have fast public transport connections to Dulles; drive or take a taxi/Uber. Taking the metro to Washington Union Station is also an option, though this metro ride is more than an hour long and requires a transfer.

Taxi

• Uber and Lyft are also popular methods of transport between the airport and the city. A trip to the East End costs around $55 using UberX and takes about 40-60 minutes. The pickup point can be reached by walking up the ramp after exiting the baggage claim area.
• Fares can be cheaper if you start from somewhere outside of the airport; the easiest way to do this is to first take the metro one stop in either direction (west to Loudoun Gateway or east to Innovation Center).
• Washington Flyer Taxi is the exclusive provider of taxis from the airport. A taxi trip to the East End costs around $75 and takes about 40-60 minutes. The taxi stand is down the ramp from the baggage claim area.

Car

There are a variety of car rental companies at the airport. Turo, an app that allows renting other users' cars, also allows for picking up and dropping off a car at Dulles.

Wait

Lounges

Nearby

The airport is in Loudoun County and Fairfax County, Virginia, some distance from Washington.

The free Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, which includes an unrivaled collection of spacecraft and aircraft, most famously the space shuttle Discovery, is right next to the airport, although still quite a ways from the terminal as it is off the end of a runway a few miles long.