Washington Airport is named after the legendary Secretary of State John Dulles, who served under President Dwight Eisenhower. More than sixty thousand passengers flying to 125 countries of the world daily use the airport services.
A brief history of the airport
Washington attracts millions of travelers annually. They seek to visit the US capital with the intention of seeing world famous sights or going to one of the many luxurious museums.
The question of building a new spacious Washington airport capable of servicing ever-increasing passenger flows was raised in 1948. Initially, several different locations were proposed for the construction of a new airfield. It was planned, including, and a place in the immediate vicinity of the Pentagon. However, the final decision on the location of the Washington airport was made personally by President Eisenhower.
The history of the construction of the new metropolitan airport has been overshadowed by the forcible seizure of land from the Native American community. A similar act was strongly criticized by progressive public organizations in the United States, but criticism could not stop the construction.
Design and construction
The construction of the country's main airport, 42 kilometers from the center of the capital, was entrusted to the construction company Allan and Whitney, however, the development of the project was carried out by the star Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, who came up with a recognizable silhouette of the main terminal.
In addition to technical buildings, the project included an artificial lake, landscaped grounds and a low-rise hotel building. Also, according to the project, two roads approached the airport at different levels, which made it possible to separate the flows of arriving and departing passengers. Such a scheme subsequently became generally accepted.
From the very beginning, it was assumed that in addition to road transport, a train will go to the airport. Now, however, a decision has been made to build until 2020 a special metro line that will connect the airport with the city center.
Development and loading
The first regular passenger flight from the airport was on November 19, 1962 in New Jersey, and two years later the airport took the first transatlantic non-stop flight. It was at this airport that the era of jetliners began in the United States, when in 1970 the first flight was completed in the presence of Pat Nixon.
In the 1980s, it became clear that the airport is increasingly assuming the functions of a docking hub, which required a change in airport design, since now far from all passengers had to visit the main terminal. To better organize passenger flows, the airport was reconstructed and bypass corridors were built, which allowed transit passengers to reduce the time required for transfers.
Destinations and airlines
At present, forty-two airlines flying to more than one hundred countries of the world make flights to the airport. However, the main airline for the harbor is United Airlines, flying both abroad and within the United States.
More than six hundred takeoffs and landings take place at the airport every day, making it one of the busiest in the United States. The largest Russian carrier Aeroflot, as well as AirIndia and many other large companies fly to this metropolitan airport terminal.
It is also worth saying that Washington Dulles Airport is one of three serving the US capital. Also, the airport named after im. Ronald Reagan and Targut Marshall.