The first glimpse of architect Eero Saarinen’s soaring airport terminal — flight itself captured in sweeping, lofty concrete — can leave travelers breathless.
So, too, can what one traveler described as the chaos of Dulles International Airport. Its growth has been a balancing act between Saarinen’s form and the constant evolution required to operate a major international airport.
Airport officials say Dulles’ growth — from a new runway to additional eateries — is right on schedule based on the number of passengers using the facility.
“We’ve been consciously trying to balance the need for making the investment with the demand that’s going to come,” said Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates both Dulles and Reagan National airports.
But some travelers say navigating Dulles can be a nightmare of insufficient signs, too many people packed into insufficient space and an odd assortment of retail and food outlets.
“I’ve been running quite a lot to find a bottle of water,” said Lena Persson, who left Dulles Thursday afternoon to fly home to Stockholm, Sweden, for the summer. “It’s easier to buy alcohol than it is to buy water.”
Past decisions, present implications
A certain fraction of fliers develop the “Dulles Daze” as they try to navigate the terminal.
Travelers wander its 1,200-foot length to find their check-in counters. In some spots, there is less than 20 feet between where fliers enter the terminal and the tensioner ribbons that form the start of check-in lines.
Saarinen made the main terminal shallow so passengers would have a short, quick walk to rolling lounges that would transport them to planes parked on a nearby jetway. The terminal, which Saarinen considered his best work, worked well when Dulles opened in 1962 but has had to adapt as the world changed.
“Dulles was planned, engineered and built before the rash of hijackings in the 1970s,” said Steve Van Beek, executive vice president for policy at the Washington-based Airports Council International-North America.
Security measures — Zamboni-sized baggage-screening machines, lengthy passenger checkpoints — now crowd passengers into shrinking space.
“It pushes people laterally, and that causes a problem,” Van Beek said. “You need the space somewhere.”
Luxury vs. necessity
Dulles has made more space — temporary concourses that have become fixtures — but how that space should be used is up for debate.
Van Beek said business travelers, himself included, want the same electronic access in Dulles as at their office or home.
“Look what business travelers expect when they travel these days,” Van Beek said. “You want to be sort of a mobile command post.”
Dorn McGrath disagreed. The George Washington University professor emeritus of city and regional planning, as well as geography, said human hospitality, not fine wines and cheeses, should greet visitors to the nation’s capital.
“You should treat the family from Iowa like human beings,” McGrath said. “We don’t seem to do a very good job of that.”
Dulles International Airport, by the numbers
» Opened: 1962, after four years of construction
» Acreage: 10,000 in 1962; 11,830 in 2006 with half used for airport operations
» 21st-busiest North American airport in 2005: 26.8 million passengers, according to Airports Council International
» 10th-largest increase in North American travelers in 2005: 18.5 percent more passengers than 2004
» Airlines: 35 passenger, 26 cargo
» Parking: 25,253 spaces
» Operating revenues: $473 million in 2005
Public transit to Dulles
With the opening of the Metro expansion line to Dulles still years away, the 26-mile journey to Dulles International Airport from the city can be daunting for visitors and Washington metro region residents alike.
Jonathan and Shona Sutherland arrived at Dulles on Thursday morning from Boston to spend their second wedding anniversary in Washington. Despite a guidebook tipping them off to catch the Washington Flyer coach service to the West Falls Church Metro station, Shona Sutherland said finding the bus was a challenge.
“Even with that, we still didn’t find it,” Shona Sutherland said, adding that the couple first ended up amid car rental shuttles on a lower level.
“We got very lost,” Jonathan Sutherland said. “Didn’t find signs for that very easy.”
Here are a few ways to get to and from Dulles and what they’ll cost in time and money:
» Metrobus: The 5A express bus leaves from D and Seventh streets SW about once an hour from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily. Fare is $3 one-way and the trip takes about 50 minutes.
» Washington Flyer Coach: Buses depart from the West Falls Church Metro station on the Orange Line every 30 minutes from 6:15 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. daily (8:15 a.m. weekends). Fare is $9 one-way, $16 round-trip and takes about 25 minutes.
» Washington Flyer Taxi: Cabs from Dulles to the District cost upward of $50 before tip.
» Parking: Taking the Dulles access road is free for travelers but parking at the airport can cost between $9 to $36 a day.
