Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)

Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD, FAA LID: IAD), typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles or simply Dulles ( DUL-iss), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fairfax County in Virginia, 26 miles (42 km) west of Downtown Washington, D. C. Opened in 1962, it is named after John Foster Dulles (1888 1959), the 52nd U. S. Secretary of State who served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Dulles main terminal is a well-known landmark designed by Eero Saarinen, who also designed the famous TWA terminal (now the TWA hotel) at New York's JFK airport. Operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Washington Dulles Airport occupies 13,000 acres (20. 3 sq mi; 52. 6 km2) straddling the Loudoun Fairfax line. Most of the airport is in the unincorporated community of Dulles in Loudoun County, with a small portion in the unincorporated community of Chantilly in Fairfax County. The airport is one of the two that is located in the Washington metropolitan area. Dulles is one of the three major airports in the larger Baltimore Washington metropolitan area with more than 24 million passengers a year. Dulles has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the Mid-Atlantic outside the New York metropolitan area, including approximately 90% of the international passenger traffic in the Baltimore Washington region. On a typical day, more than 60,000 passengers pass through Dulles to and from more than 125 destinations around the world. The airport is considered the region's international air hub, with dozens of nonstop international flights. Increased domestic travel from Reagan National Airport has eroded some of Dulles's domestic routes. Dulles overtook Reagan in total enplanements in 2019. In 2018, Dulles Airport surpassed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in yearly passenger boardings after having fewer passengers since 2015. However, it still ranks behind Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in total annual passenger boardings. Dulles is a hub for United Airlines and is frequently used by airlines which United has codeshare agreements with, mostly composed of Star Alliance members like Saudia and Lufthansa.