WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration is preparing a major reconstruction plan for Washington Dulles International Airport, telling reporters during a White House Cabinet meeting that “we have a design that’s amazing for Dulles” and that he intends to rebuild the facility into “a great airport.”
“We’re also going to rebuild Dulles airport because it’s not a good airport,” Trump said during a meeting of his Cabinet. “It should be a great airport, and it’s not a good airport at all. It’s a terrible airport.”
The remarks follow an unexplained detour in October, when the president’s motorcade traveled through Dulles on its return from his golf club. At the time, the White House said the president wanted to take a different route to review potential future projects at the airport.
Dulles, built under the Eisenhower administration and dedicated by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, has undergone repeated expansions since the original 1958 terminal design by architect Eero Saarinen. Major upgrades have included the AeroTrain system, which opened in 2010 to shuttle passengers between concourses and the main terminal.
Airport officials are currently planning a new permanent C/D concourse as part of the Dulles Development Project. The proposed three-level structure would house 44 gates and match the amenities offered in Concourse B. Long-term plans call for multiple additional midfield concourses, a new south terminal, and a fifth runway parallel to the existing 12–30 line, expanding on the fourth runway that opened in 2008.
