This winter’s “snowcrete” storm cost Reagan National Airport some passengers, but the looming spring-break season may turn things around.
January’s enplanements at Reagan National stood at just over 820,000, down 5.1% from a year before, according to data presented March 18 to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors.
Reagan National Airport recorded its lowest annual passenger count in three years in 2025, even as Dulles International Airport set an all-time record.
Just under 24.9 million passengers traveled through DCA last year, down 5.3% from 26.3 million in 2024, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) reported yesterday (Tuesday) — confirming preliminary numbers released last month.
A year with multiple challenges led to a 5% passenger-traffic decline at Reagan National Airport in 2025.
Federal job cuts, the seven-week government shutdown, wintry weather and the aftermath of the fatal midair crash over the Potomac River all affected total passenger levels for the year, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) President Jack Potter said.
In a 2023 ARLnow poll, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would pay more or compromise on schedule in order to fly out of National Airport instead of Dulles.
In the comments, several people mentioned the “super lame” and “interminable” people movers at IAD as being a key factor.
Well, those lumbering, decades-old “mobile lounges” may be on the way out, just months after airport officials said they could be in operation for another 15-20 years. Following a crash involving a people mover that injured more than a dozen people, President Trump says the federal government will be leading an effort to “rebuild” the airport, with a likely focus on eliminating the 1960s-era vehicles.
More from the Associated Press:
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will embark on a reconstruction of Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.
“We’re also going to rebuild Dulles airport because it’s not a good airport,” Trump said during a meeting of his Cabinet members at the White House. “It should be a great airport, and it’s not a good airport at all. It’s a terrible airport.”
Dulles is one of the three Washington-area airports and its quality is a hotly-debated topic among Washingtonians.
Trump, a former real estate mogul, said the Dulles building was “incorrectly designed.” He nonetheless praised Eero Saarinen, the Finnish-American architect who designed the main terminal at Dulles.
“We’re going to turn that around and we’re going to make Dulles airport — serving Washington and Virginia, Maryland, etc. — we’re gonna make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it.”
His motorcade took an unannounced drive through Dulles in early November. At the time, the White House said Trump wanted to take the detour to the airport to assess potential future projects.
During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy singled out the controversial “people movers” that ferry travelers in between concourses. One of the vehicles, which are also called “mobile lounges,” crashed in November. […]
The Transportation Department announced later Tuesday that it is inviting bids for a Dulles project that would build “completely new terminals and concourses” at the airport. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement that it will work with the Transportation Department to build upon the existing $7 billion plan to improve Dulles.
This morning we’re wondering: would significant updates to the airport, beyond those already made or under construction, make you more likely to fly out of Dulles?
Virginia’s senators are stepping up efforts to nix a proposal to add five more round-trip flights to Reagan National Airport.
Sen. Tim Kaine — with the support of fellow Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and five other Democratic senators from Maryland, Colorado and Illinois — has proposed to strike the extra flights from a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
National Airport is, arguably, a key perk of living in Arlington.
Being a <15 minute Uber ride (or a short Metro ride) away from a convenient, well-run airport with flights to a wide range of domestic destinations is something few inner suburbs can claim.
A retired flight attendant will be pushing a beverage cart from Dulles airport to the Pentagon next month in honor of his colleagues who were killed on 9/11.
It was the evening of September 10, 2001, when Paul “Paulie” Veneto arrived back in Boston on Flight 175. He was working as a flight attendant for United Airlines at the time and the Los Angeles to Boston was his normal route. But his shift was up, so he and the rest of his crew switched.
The Trump administration’s proposal to sell Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport as part of its $200 billion infrastructure plan has been greeted by a chorus of opposition from local lawmakers.
“Trump isn’t trying to fix our infrastructure, he’s trying to sell it off,” tweeted Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “This ‘plan’ is nothing but smoke and mirrors.”
MWAA, which operates Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport, says that travelers should plan ahead, keep an eye on the weather and monitor social media.
Among the tips from the airports authority:
Yesterday, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) joined other D.C. metro area legislators in writing to members of the House Appropriations Committee to support airplane noise mitigation provisions in the fiscal year Transportation-Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill.
Beyer is a member of the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus, and urged the committee to fund health studies on the effects of airplane noise. The legislators cited past studies that have linked excessive exposure to noise with hypertension and learning difficulties.
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.
Passengers at the region’s airports could have an easier time during their travels thanks to a new partnership between the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Crystal City startup incubator 1776.
The facility will be built on the grounds of Dulles International Airport as a joint venture with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Arlington County will contribute $7 million to the project. MWAA will contribute about $5 million and the land, valued at $6 million.
The new facility is necessary, county officials said, because the Dulles-area range where Arlington officers currently train does not have running water and permanent restrooms. It also has no covered firing points and minimal classroom space.
