Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD, FAA LID: IAD) is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia. It is 26 miles (42 km) west of Washington, D.C.[3] The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington DC-Northern Virginia metropolitan area and the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles. He was the Secretary of State under Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Dulles main terminal is a well-known landmark it was designed by Eero Saarinen. The airport is run by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Dulles Airport covers an area of 11,830 acres (47.9 km2).[4] It is on the border of Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Virginia.[1]
| Washington Dulles International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| IATA: IAD – ICAO: KIAD – FAA LID: IAD – WMO: 72403 | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner/Operator | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority | ||
| Serves | Washington metropolitan area | ||
| Location | Dulles, Virginia, U.S. | ||
| Hub for | *United Airlines | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 313 ft / 95 m | ||
| Coordinates | 38°56′40″N 077°27′21″W / 38.94444°N 77.45583°WCoordinates: 38°56′40″N 077°27′21″W / 38.94444°N 77.45583°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Maps | |||
| FAA airport Diagram | |||
| Location of airport in Virginia / United States | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 1L/19R | 9,400 | 2,865 | Concrete |
| 1C/19C | 11,500 | 3,505 | Concrete |
| 1R/19L | 11,500 | 3,505 | Concrete |
| 12/30 | 10,501 | 3,201 | Concrete |
| 12R/30L | 10,500 | 3,200 | Planned |
| Statistics (2018) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 354,281 | ||
| Total passengers | 36,060,709  5.1%
| ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration,[1] Passenger traffic[2] | |||
Dulles lies in two unincorporated communities, Chantilly and Dulles. It is west of Herndon and southwest of Sterling. Washington Dulles Airport is the largest airport in the Washington metropolitan area. It is one of the nation's busiest airports. The airport has over 23 million passengers a year. Daily, more than 60,000 passengers leave Washington Dulles to more than 125 destinations around the world.[5][6] Dulles is the busiest airport in Virginia. It is also the busiest in the Baltimore Washington Metropolitan Area. It is accessible via the Washington Metro's Silver line.
At the end of World War II, growth in aviation and in the Washington metropolitan area caused Congress to pass the Washington Airport Act of 1950. This provided the money for a second airport. The location was selected by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958.
Airlines
Largest carriers
| Rank | Airline | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Airlines | 9,698,380 |
| 2 | Mesa Airlines (United Express, US Airways Express) | 1,067,635 |
| 3 | JetBlue Airways | 1,050,845 |
| 4 | ExpressJet Airlines (United Express) | 951,085 |
| 5 | Trans States Airlines (United Express) | 901,528 |
| 6 | American Airlines | 891,974 |
| 7 | Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Delta Connection, United Express | 839,316 |
| 8 | Colgan Air (Continental Connection, United Express) | 759,520 |
| 9 | Delta Air Lines | 677,008 |
| 10 | Southwest Airlines | 640,643 |
All airlines
|
Incidents
- On June 13, 1979, two tires on an Air France Concorde blew out during a take-off from Washington Dulles Airport. Shrapnel from the tires damaged an engine, three fuel tanks, several hydraulic lines, electrical wires and the top of the wing.[9]
- On July 21, 1979, another blown tire on an Air France Concorde happened during take-off from Washington Dulles Airport. After this, the “French director general of civil aviation and Air France made it a requirement to inspect each wheel/tire before to each take-off.[9]
- In 2001, American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757, left gate D26 at Dulles to Los Angeles International Airport. It was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks.[10]
- On August 30, 2011, the left engine of United Airlines Flight 861, a Boeing 777, made a loud noise. The cockpit of the airplane became filled with smoke. The crew turned off the left engine and returned to Dulles Airport.[11]
In fiction
Dulles has been used for many Washington based movies. This started soon after it opened with the 1964 movie Seven Days in May. The 1983 comedy D.C. Cab, starring Mr. T, Adam Baldwin and Gary Busey showed scenes outside of the main terminal at Dulles Airport. The action movie Die Hard 2: Die Harder takes place mainly at Dulles airport. The plot of the movie deals with the takeover of the airport's tower and communication systems by terrorists. The movie was not filmed at Dulles. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver were used. Part of the thriller The Package (starring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones) took place at Dulles. Again it was not filmed in Dulles. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport was used in its place.
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. Dulles was the site filmed as a New York City airport, in the 1999 comedy, Forces of Nature. The airport is also shown in the movie Body of Lies.[12] In the scene, Leonardo DiCaprio says he is in "Dubai International" on the phone. The curved roof and windows on the upper deck of the Dulles departures area can be seen behind him. The terminal can also be seen in the movie In The Line of Fire starring Clint Eastwood.
Dulles is used in many episodes of the television series The X-Files.[13]
Washington Dulles International Airport Media
Dulles Airport in April 1970, showing the main terminal's original size.
First Lady Pat Nixon ushered in the era of jumbo jets by christening the first Boeing 747 at Dulles, January 15, 1970.
A close-up of Dulles's iconic old air traffic control tower, which halted operations in 2007
The current air traffic control tower dwarfs the original one.
Main Terminal Station of AeroTrain.
Inside the main terminal at night showing the escalators leading to baggage claim and arrivals.
Bust of John Foster Dulles.
Plane Mates at Washington Dulles International Airport, "docked" at the main terminal building. In the background is part of the tower the original airport control tower.
The terminal ceiling is suspended in a catenary curve above the luggage check-in area.
Main Terminal AeroTrain station
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 FAA Airport Master Record for IAD (Form 5010 PDF)
- ↑ "Dulles Air Traffic Statistics". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. January 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ↑ "Dulles International Airport". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ↑ "Facts About Washington Dulles International Airport". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) Air Traffic Statistics". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ↑ "Air Service Maps - IAD". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ↑ "Icelandair Announces Flights from Washington, D.C. - Icelandair". www.icelandair.com. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- ↑ Inc, Porter Airlines. "News. Get the latest updates". Porter Airlines.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Safety Recommendations" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 9 November 1981. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ↑ "Flight Path Study - American Airlines Flight 77" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. February 19, 2002.
- ↑ "Incident: United Airlines B772 near Washington on Aug 30th 2011, engine shut down in flight". The Aviation Herald. August 31, 2011.
- ↑ "Filming locations for Body of Lies". imdb.com. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ↑ "X-files Transcript Search". xfroadrunners.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
Other websites
- Official website
- openNav: IAD / KIAD charts
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 15 December 2011
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KIAD
- ASN accident history for IAD
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KIAD
- FAA current IAD delay information