Trump unveils $22 billion overhaul of Dulles International Airport

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled plans to revamp Dulles International Airport that would create an underground train and ditch the controversial “people movers,” the bus-like mobile vehicles that transport passengers arriving from international destinations.

Trump has taken a keen interest in the long-discussed overhaul of the airport in Northern Virginia, while disparaging it as “terrible” and “incorrectly designed.”

“It’s considered one of the worst airports anywhere in the world — we’re going to make it maybe the best with some hard work,” Trump said at a White House event.

He added: “We’re gonna make this something special.” The project is estimated to cost around $22 billion.

Trump was joined Wednesday by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO Jack Potter.

The airport is overseen by the MWAA and serves as a hub for United.

As part of the revitalization plan, Kirby earlier this year said United’s vision would ditch the people movers, formally known as “mobile lounges,” in favor of a rail option as well as a central walking tunnel. Trump agrees with that idea.

The design “is one that works great for the airline,” Kirby said Wednesday.

During the press conference, Potter added that the project will be made possible by “airport-generated dollars, airline contributions,” to accelerate the renovations. Speaking to the financing, Trump added that congressional approvals will still likely be needed to advance the project.

The proposed upgrades would significantly overhaul the experience for passengers at Dulles. Expanded parking, redesigned check-in areas and more efficient security screening aimed at reducing congestion are among the proposed upgrades. The project will preserve Dulles’ legendary main terminal, which was designed by Eero Saarinen, officials said.

Trump said Wednesday that the overhaul would also include a “massive,” multi-level parking garage that would hold up to 32,000 vehicles. He said it would be right across from the terminal “so people literally will be able to park their car and walk 15 yards and they will be in the terminal.”

Duffy on Tuesday likened the people movers to elevated buses. “It looks like it’s from ‘Star Wars,’ and they’re slow and people are angry about them. We are going to get rid of those,” he said.

Trump has embarked on several aviation-related initiatives in his second term. He accepted a Qatari-gifted Boeing 747 to serve as a temporary Air Force One and has initiated a sweeping modernization of the nation’s air traffic control system. Florida recently renamed Palm Beach International Airport — just a few miles from the president’s Mar-a-Lago mansion — for Trump, a change that also includes switching the airport’s three-letter code identifier from “PBI” to “DJT.”

Trump administration officials had earlier this year floated the idea of renaming Dulles for Trump , a suggestion rejected by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The subject did not come up in Wednesday’s White House event.

The proposed Dulles renovation builds on MWAA’s “master plan,” the airport’s long-range blueprint for how it will grow, expand, and modernize over roughly the next 25 years.